


Heroes and Anti-Heroes

by NaGaKi108



Category: Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Additional Characters to be added, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Bad Parenting, Blood, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fights, Fluff, Kinda, M/M, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Work In Progress, healthy rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2018-11-12 07:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11157525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaGaKi108/pseuds/NaGaKi108
Summary: In a World full of heroes is only normal that villains will rise, but that’s why there are heroes in the first place. To help out the people, and to help out themselves.Virgil refused to be what society expected. He refused to be a villain.UPDATE MAY 7: this fanfic has been rewritten to better explain things and to fix plotholes. However, this fanfic is also entering Hiatus until I find enough time to work on it





	1. The quirk of a villain

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter of this story got quite the positive reaction on tumblr so i figured i'll also post it here!
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Baised doctors, OC (Anxiety's parents)

It all began in the town of Qing Qing, China; with news of the birth of a mysterious "Luminescent baby"

Shortly thereafter, similar phenomena popped up all over the world.

The trigger for these newfound powers was never determined, but as time progressed what was once extraordinary became ordinary, and Dreams became Reality.

Currently, 90% of the population has those so-called individualities, also referred as "Quirks", allowing the birth of heroes and villains alike. Studies showed that these new humans lacked something, more concretely they lacked the second joint in their pinky toe. Those who still had that vestigial part where called _Quirkless_.

Virgil knew no man was born equal, his family was never fully accepted due to the nature of it, and by the time he was 4 Virgil realized there was something wrong with him.

He had waited anxiously for his ability to manifest once he turned four, but weeks after his birthday and he still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He felt cold more often, and sometimes he had headaches, he was more aware of what his parents tried to hide from him but besides those individualities, he felt… normal.

The fear of being one of the Unlucky Ones made him cry, he cried until his parents took the young child to a Quirk Doctor.

“Is he okay? Is there something wrong with Virgil?”

“Mister, will it be okay if we talked about this alone?”

The man nodded, looking worriedly at his only child. They left the room leaving Virgil alone, but the curiosity of a child is something to fear and the second they left the room he inched closer to the door, close enough to hear what they were saying.

“Virgil does, in fact, have a Quirk”

“That’s a relief”

“I must ask though, is Virgil your blood child?”

“No… my husband and I adopted him. There are no recorded names of his biological parents”

“I see…”

“Doctor, is something wrong?”

“Your child, Virgil… He has a dark power, could even be called the Quirk of a villain”

The young child froze; he could hear his dad angrily asking the doctor what he meant with that but it was like time itself had stopped. His ears were ringing, his vision was swimming, and he couldn’t understand a word of what the grownups were saying.

There were situations, things whispered in the dead of night and away from ears that shouldn’t hear them. Kids who Lady Luck had never been kind to, kids called “To Be”, to be future villains, to be rejected, to be feared. Kids who wished they had been Quirkless instead of _To Bes._

“It’s simple really; his quirk allows him to manipulate people’s fears and use it to incapacitate them. I strongly recommend you bring Virgil weekly to some facility that can teach him how to repress his power. It’ll be better if he doesn’t use his Quirk” there was silence for a second and a heavy sigh by the older man “He is as close to a To Be as one can be”

When the doctor and Virgil’s parent entered the room they found the small child curled on and inside a purple dome while crying, Jeremiah ran to his son but the second his hand made contact to the dome both him and Virgil screamed. Virgil out of pain and Jeremiah out of fear, it was like his worst phobias were being thrown out at his face.

“Bring someone with a cancel Quirk, now!”

It took a few minutes for someone to come into the room running, but when they saw the situation they pushed their hands near the energy ball and concentrated. A small golden light started emanating from their hands and surrounding the purple dome where the child was hidden, but after agonizing moments the energy around Virgil dissipated enough for Jeremiah to hug his son.

It was only a matter of seconds before Virgil calmed down, he held on to his dad crying and hiccupping while the man tried to calm him down. The thing that escaped both boy and parent notice was that now a small dark cloak was around Virgil's shoulders, but the doctor kept his eyes on it. It didn’t look solid enough, kind of like it wasn’t sure if it should take the shape of a cloak or something else.

Jeremiah noticed the cloak when they were leaving the doctor’s office but decided to not comment about it, he knew Virgil was feeling shaky. He took his son's hand and gave him a soft smile, before taking the scenic route to their house

“You were listening to the conversation right?” Virgil nodded

“Am… I a bad kid?”

“Virgil, no” Jeremiah sat down on the ground in front of Virgil and caressed his son head “You are amazing my son”

“But the doctor said…”

“The Quirk doesn’t make the hero, is their heart and mind that does. If you have the conviction of goodness you can be good”

Virgil stared at his parent; he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant

“M-maybe that’s a little too complex?” Jeremiah laughed nervously; usually, it was Aaron the one that explained things to Virgil “What I mean is that you will always be you. Our precious Virgil, no matter what the doctor says, you can find some way to use your Quirk for good”

Virgil nodded, still a little uncertain, but if his dad believed it then who was he to doubt it?

When they gave the news to Aaron the man kneeled down in front of his son and hugged him, he raised an eyebrow in Jeremiah’s direction and discretely pointed to the cloak still hanging in Virgil's shoulders but Jeremiah just shrugged

“Wanna tell me where you got that cool cape son?”

“I'm not… sure?” Virgil looked confused, finally recognizing the added weight

“That’s okay, it looks good on you. Makes you look all mysterious”

“Papa is a nerd” Virgil giggled, finally making Jeremiah smile

“Ugh, you wound me” Virgil and Jeremiah laughed, and the air felt more relaxed than in the past month.

But of course not everything was rose-tinted, and that Virgil discovered during his sixth year of life.

The school was in full swing by then, and all the kids were showing off their powers except for Virgil. The main reason was his fear of what could happen, and the other was the fear of what others would say. His family was already criticized enough because of his two dads and now their kid turned out as a _To Be_

Jeremiah and Aaron had decided that Virgil would only go to the facility if the child himself wanted, and they encouraged their son to practice with his Quirk, especially when they discovered the cloak worked as another arm, reaching up to hold or grab things, and that it worked as some sort of terror dome when not in cloak form.

He had managed to practice his control over it, and with that, he had discovered that Shadow could turn into different things if he wanted to. Currently, his Quirk was wrapped around him as a hoodie, helping him to hide it. Recess was in full swing and kids were playing with their powers, and Virgil was –pointlessly- trying to avoid a group of kids.

“Come on Virgil, show us! Or are you Quirkless?”

“I'm not…”

“Oh look at him, he’s gonna cry again! Lame baby Virgil! Want us to call your dads again?”

“Don’t involve my dads!”

“Mom says your dads are the worst! Blah!”

“Shut up!”

Virgil stood up from his hunched over position, he wasn’t going to allow anyone bad-mouthing his parents. The child in front of him cowered a little and Virgil realized part of his hoodie had disappeared, hanging like a shadow near the boy's feet. He smirked, maybe he could-?

“Virgil! What are you doing to your classmate?”

He looked around, finally realizing that the effects of his Quirk were affecting not only the kid bullying him but the ones that were surrounding them. He stared at the teacher with a panicked look in his eyes and froze, he had… but…

“Farandole, follow me to the Principal office”

He followed the teacher with his head down, only looking at his feet and those of the adult taking him to the place most children feared going to. He was going to get in trouble and dad was going to be disappointed.

He was told to wait outside the office while his guardian got to the school, and in the waiting he noticed the secretary giving him a wary look. She was scared, she was wary of him. The revelation was a shock that he hadn’t expected, and he curled down on the chair while he waited for Jeremiah to appear.

When Jeremiah reached the school he found his son outside the office and muffling his sobs, he sat beside the distressed boy and started petting his hair, hoping the familiar action would be enough to comfort the small child. When the door opened the figure of the principal appeared in front of father and child, a disapproving frown on his face

“Mister Farandole, how kind of you to finally join us. Please, this way”

Jeremiah frowned, holding his child in his arms and entering the office. The place was nothing to appreciate, just a desk with one chair on one side and two on the other, a couch on one extreme of the room and a vase with no flowers. Jeremiah kept his face neutral and Virgil concentrated on hiding his face on his dad's neck.

He sat down on one chair and waited for the bigger man to sit on the other side. He clenched his teeth against the obvious act of superiority and forced himself to wait it out; he knew what the principal was doing

“As you know, our school has a strict policy against quirks that we consider dangerous-”

“Excuse me, can we make this quick?”

“Of course. As a school we worry for the safety of our students, I'm sure you know that” Jeremiah nodded, annoyed beyond words “As such, I fear we have to write this in Virgil’s expedient, which I remind you is already quite long”

“What happened?”

“His homeroom teacher found him in recess using his power against some classmates-”

“So you want to know If I want to put a memo of how many times those kids have harassed my son?”

“Let me remind you, mister Farandole, that your child is already a _To Be_ and it wouldn’t be good for him to continue on in this path” the principal sighed, staring at Virgil with distrust “Is problematic enough that we have to modify the dress code to allow him to wear that thing”

Jeremiah frowned, baring his teeth to the principal and standing up

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore, I'm taking my kid out of this hellhole. I'm tired of him suffering from bullying both from those so-called innocent classmates and your staff, and keep in mind I will mention this at the next committee meeting of the city”

He held Virgil closer to his chest and turned around, slamming the door close behind him. Once they reached home he sighed and gave Virgil a tired smile, softly caressing his hair and cheek

“Maybe I am a villain…”

“No, you aren’t. You were protecting yourself and the ones you love, and that’s okay too”

“But daddy! I… I wanted to hurt him; I wanted him to feel scared”

“Why?”

“Because he was attacking you and Papa”

“You were protecting us Virgil, and that is not a bad thing”

He hugged his son and chuckled softly, it wasn’t a funny situation but he couldn’t help it. He went out of the car and opened the door on the side of his kid, holding him in his arms and kicking the door closed with his heel

“You know Virgil? When your Papa and I were little kids he used his hardening Quirk to punch a classmate in the face. Want to know why?” Virgil nodded, staring fascinated at his parent, both Jeremiah and Aaron avoided talking about their childhood too much

“I punched him because he was bullying your dad. I’m home”

“Aaron! Don’t sneak up on us!” Aaron chuckled before kissing Jeremiah and ruffling Virgil's hair

“Sorry, sorry. So, I got a call from your school Virgil, are you okay?”

He shook his head, making grabby hands at his papa and being softly handed over. Once in Aaron’s arms he pressed his face to Aaron’s neck and sighed.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay kiddo, we’re changing you schools to that place where my friend works, is a good school and we can afford anything”

Virgil nodded; in his mind, there were only positives to come from this. Maybe in this new school he would have friends, maybe in this new school he wouldn’t be harassed, maybe he wouldn’t be judged for something he couldn’t control.

With that happy thought in his cloud of sadness, he fell asleep against his dad, hoping and dreaming of better days to come, ignorant of the whispered conversation between his parents. Ignorant of the worry they had and the anger they felt towards a society that judged kids with different Quirks.

 


	2. Two sides of the same coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small snipped of the present, and the warm memory of how the past was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Violence, Blood, Cursing, All of it can be skipped if you start reading from the “ -|-|-|-|-|- ” mark  
> Also! Valerie finally appears here!

“Nightmare! Nightmare answer us!”

“You should probably say bye to your little friends; don’t you agree, _Little_ _Hero?_ ”

Nightmare coughed, blood trickling down his mouth. He couldn’t stand up and his Shadow wasn’t bending to his will, he was powerless. But even if he was defenseless and weakened it didn’t mean he was going to go out without a fight.

“Fuck you, Kirito knock-off”

The villain grimaced and punched Nightmare in the stomach, making the already hurt boy cough up even more blood and bend over to hold his pained midsection.

“Well, you heard the brat guys, let’s go. Oh, and Nightmare? You are coming with us”

He grabbed the young man by the hair and forced him to stand up. Someone behind him opened a portal and the cloak-clad student was thrown on top of a muscular shoulder, when the others were crossing the portal they heard the sound of flight-boots making them pause for a second, the man at charge blinked and shrugged, whoever it was would probably be another one of Nightmare's friends. Seconds before the portal closed a bespectacled teenager landed near the place, throwing himself up to try and reach the hero in training

“NIGHTMARE, NO!”

“I’m sorry, Nervei”

And the portal closed.

-|-|-|-|-|-

**-0-0-0-6 Years Ago -0-0-0-**

Virgil sighed, he was so scared. They had relocated his Papa at work so they all had moved cities, and now he was going to start attending a new school. He was 9 years old, and this was the beginning of the fourth grade.

“Virgil? We are here”

He nodded, during his past 3 years his powers had grown and he was starting to become worried of actually hurting innocent people. So when his Papa had announced they were moving and Virgil asked if they could look for a Quirk Specialist, Jeremiah and Aaron shared a look and turned to his son, asking if he was sure of it. The little boy nodded as confidently as possible and explained that he was scared of hurting others and wanted to control his Quirk.

So, here he was, seconds away from seeing a Quirk Specialist that helped kids with complex Quirks and taught them how to control it. He inhaled and stared at his dad, making Jeremiah smile and hold the door open for his son.

“I’ll go in with you, but just for today. The rest of the appointments I’ll be waiting for you outside, okay?” Virgil nodded and they entered the building

“Hello, may I help you?” Jeremiah went to the receptionist, still grasping his son's hand

“Hello, I’m Jeremiah Farandole. We have an appointment with… Mister Sanders?”

“If I can please have your name?”

“I believe the appointment is under the name Jeremiah Farandole”

“Oh yes, here it is. He’s probably waiting for you, please follow me”

The tall woman took them along an eternal looking corridor and made small talk, simple questions that Jeremiah answered and asked back with a smile. She stopped in front of a door that seemed as tall as the building itself “To accommodate people with transformative Quirks” and knocked gently

“Thomas, mister Farandole and his son are here”

“Let them in!”

She pushed the door open and both Jeremiah and Virgil were greeted with what looked like a physician’s room but softer. The walls were a pastel baby blue color, there was a corkboard full of pins and child-colored drawings, and there were pictures on the wall of a group of friends and some of a kid close in age to Virgil

“Hello!” The man stood up, he was slightly shorter than Jeremiah but he had the same kind smile “My name is Thomas Sanders and I’m a Quirk Specialist” He kneeled down to be at the same eye level as Virgil and smiled “You must be Virgil, right?”

The boy nodded, trying to hide behind his father’s leg. Thomas looked friendly but Virgil was still unfamiliar with him, making him feel anxious. The doctor stood up again and offered his hand to Jeremiah who shook it firmly, the Specialist pointed to two seats and sat on the other side of the desk

“So, what brings you both here?”

“Virgil, would you like me to answer?” Virgil shook his head; he held on to his dad's hand and took a big breath

“I… my Quirk make people feel scared”

“What do you mean Virgil?”

“The doctor said I have t-the Quirk of a” Virgil gulped, he disliked remembering that “Of a villain”

Thomas took a deep breath and held on to the edge of the desk. He despised when adults said things carelessly. Jeremiah and Thomas shared a look and the father shook his head with a sad smile, they had been trying to make Virgil forget that phrase but it was complex, and kids were cruel.

“Virgil can manipulate people’s fears, and that cloak he has, it works as some sort of… smoke when not in cloak form”

“Shadow also brings me things!” Virgil was smiling, he loved his cloak

“Well, isn’t that one _handy_ Quirk?” Thomas and Virgil laughed at the joke while Jeremiah face palmed silently and tried to repress a chuckle “So, do you wish to understand your Quirk?”

“I… I don’t want to hurt people, and the TV said you knew how to help kids like me”

Thomas smiled embarrassedly, he remembered that interview.

“Well Virgil, I’ll do whatever I can to help you use your powers for good. But first, I need you to show me how it works”

“I don’t- You could get hurt!”

“I promise nothing bad will happen to me”

Virgil looked at his dad, and when Jeremiah nodded he closed his eyes and concentrated.

The cloak that was solid turned into a fine smoke and surrounded Thomas. It solidified into a type of transparent bubble and Thomas knocked on it lightly, it felt like plastic and he whistled in surprise. There was still some smoke inside and outside of the bubble making it look misty and out of a Silent Hill movie, the only difference was that the mist/smoke was purple. When Virgil opened his eyes the mist started raining down on Thomas and a mirror formed in front of his eyes, reflecting the man’s fears.

Thomas closed his eyes and concentrated, a white light surrounding his body and fighting away the darkness of Shadow. When the doctor opened his eyes the bubble started collapsing in a rain of sparkles, only to materialize again into the cloak-like shape and drape itself over Virgil's shoulders.

“That was so cool!” It was no more than a whisper, but Virgil had stars in his eyes and was looking at Thomas in amazement “How did you do that?”

Thomas laughed, ruffling the kid's hair “My Quirk is called Opposite, it can oppose any Quirk”

“So cool! Dad did you saw? That was so cool!”

“Thank you Virgil” Thomas smiled before sitting down again “Well, you seem to have a pretty solid control of your Quirk”

“Not always… I hurt people when I get angry… I make them feel scared” Virgil sounded so sad, Thomas felt his heart squeeze itself into his chest.

“Virgil, we all have accidentally hurt someone with our powers” He started, Jeremiah nodded “If you really wish to come here once or twice a week then you are more than welcome to do so, but don’t do it because others are forcing you to”

Virgil shook his head, a tiny and shy smile on his face

“I’m doing this because I want to be a hero! I want to help others, so this dark Quirk… this scary Quirk, I have to learn to make it good”

Thomas smiled, satisfied with the answer

“Well then! Let’s shape you into a hero”

Jeremiah and Thomas spent the rest of the visit discussing which days Virgil was going to be attending the office and if there was some sort of thing Virgil would have to bring and etcetera. In Virgil’s honest opinion? It was boring.

When both grownups where satisfied with their preparations Virgil and Jeremiah left the office, waving goodbye at the young woman behind the reception desk and at the old guard of the place. At Virgil request they drove to the school building, Virgil knew it was weird of him to do this but he wanted to know where he could run in case he repeated what happened when he was six. Once Virgil felt confident enough in his knowledge of all the possible escape routes he nodded.

He was ready for Monday.

-0-

Virgil was taking back his words, he was _so not ready_. Would the other kids hate him? Would they push him aside? Was he going to spend five years all alone?

Jeremiah and Aaron shared a look and smiled slightly, Virgil was always anxious about things he couldn’t control. Aaron kneeled down in front of his son and ruffled the boy's hair while giving him a soft smile

“Look at my son, all grown up. I’m an old man”

“You are not that old, Papa” Aaron laughed

“You are not old either kiddo, and if you ever feel like it’s too much you can always call me or you Dad and we’ll come pick you up, okay?”

Virgil nodded and Aaron stood up, the young child went to his dad and kissed him goodbye before allowing Jeremiah a few seconds to hug him and whisper how proud he was of his little son, once they pulled apart Aaron took Virgil’s hand and guided him to the car, Jeremiah waving goodbye from the doorframe. It was going to be a good day.

In another part of the city a young blond boy was waving a plastic sword all over the place while dragging his mom by the skirt to the door, the woman chuckled and patted his head

“Roman, calm down”

“But Mamá, It’s my first day here!”

“I know, but if we go now we’ll be there before even the teachers!” With that, the woman let out a big laugh

Roman pouted, he could understand what his Mamá was saying but at the same time this was a new place, a place where no one knew he was the son of Miss Valerie Torres. He was ready to just be Roman Torres. He wanted to go now, he wanted to have friends, and he wanted to play with kids his age!

Once his mom determined it was a good enough time to leave they went on their merry way to school. Roman was bouncing on his seat, he was so excited to meet other kids his age and be able to compare Quirks!

When they reached the school Valerie kissed her son goodbye, leaving a lipstick mark and making Roman groan in fake irritation

“Mom” he whined “I'm a grown up now! It’s embarrassing!”

“Nonsense Roman Maximo Torres, you are still my tiny son and you get hugs and kisses to school!”

Roman giggled, he wasn’t really opposed to it he just wanted to pretend to be big. He jumped out of the car after allowing his mom to hug him again and went running to school; he was ready to start a new class.

He was in the classroom 2-B, a classroom that according to the director was made for kids with slightly dangerous Quirks so they wouldn’t accidentally damage the school propriety or other students. Roman giggled at the idea, how would his blades destroy the classroom? It was silly!

He was so absorbed in his imagination of summoning a Giant Blade that he didn’t notice when he collided with another kid slightly taller than him. What he did notice was the kid suddenly on the ground and staring up at him.

“I-I’m so-”

“No, no, I'm so sorry! I wasn’t looking!” Roman bent down to present his hand to the boy, who took it with a slightly shaky hand “I’m Roman, and you?”

“V-Virgil”

“A pleasure to meet you, Virgil! Is this your classroom too?”

Virgil nodded and Roman gifted him a smile, they entered the classroom together with Roman talking a mile a minute, barely taking time to breathe while Virgil nodded or laughed. It was easy to talk to the other boy and to keep the conversation alive, and soon both were sitting beside the other to continue their conversation.

When the teacher opened the door Roman gasped and started repeatedly slapping Virgil arm softly, making the taller boy stare at him confusedly

“That’s my uncle!”

“Good morning class, I’m Nelson Torres and I’ll be your teacher this year”

Roman was smiling so brightly it felt like he was shining; the teacher caught his eye in the classroom and smiled at him, making Roman start again with the gentle slapping on Virgil's arm. The boy smiled softly, he had a friend and the prospect of an interesting year.

Nelson was a tall man, intimidating but with a kind smile. His eyes looked tired, and the all black sclera was certified to make kids wary of him, but all in all, he was a good teacher and a good person.

When he heard from his sister that Roman was going to start classes in his school he had immediately decided to talk to the board and explain. Roman was a _To Be_ , and he was going to fight for his nephew to be put in his classroom.

In this society, that classified kids with different abilities as a danger or a future villain, he was trying to make the dangerous kids feel welcome. He was the first to propose the idea to make a classroom for kids classified as _To Bes_ where they could be safely included, where they wouldn’t be discriminated for being what society called dangerous. He was going to fight for the kids he had under his charge.

As he stared at the names on his list he felt a tiny smile tug at his lips.

He had the files of all the kids in his class, files with miles of information, full of fear mongering writing and warnings that were just empty words.

‘Can use his quirk for this’ ‘Could be doing that’ ‘Might possibly start this behavior’ he was sick of it. All those kids did with their powers was in self-defense, to protect themselves against the so-called innocent classmates that never hesitated in punching them or throwing them under the bus to save themselves.

He was going to make a safe place here for them.

Nelson Torres wasn’t a hero like the people from his family name; he wasn’t running around punching villains and giving winning smiles to a camera.

He was a hero, a hero concentrating on keeping people safe, a hero concentrating on saving kids from a society who deemed anyone different as dangerous.

Nelson Torres was a hero for kids who were told by the system they could only be evil. And as he stared at his class, he could only see kids that were nervous about talking with their classmates out of fear of something they had lived time and time again.

With a clap of his hands, he called the attention back to himself and gave the kids a warm smile

“Please don’t look so scared, everyone in this classroom is like you” he pointed to his eyes and smiled again “The teacher included, so let’s all be friends and be there for the others. We are a team now kiddos”

He saw the kids nod and clapped again

“Who wants to be a hero?!”

A few hands raised, shy, scared, insecure. He felt warm fill his chest

“Then you can absolutely be one, I believe in you” He stared at the others who hadn’t raised their hands “You can be anything you set your mind to. A teacher, a police officer, someone who saves lives, someone who creates words for others, anything you wish to you can totally be it. Believe in yourself, and I will give you the tools to be what you want”

He saw tears gathering in eyes, kids who only had that said to them by their parents, kids abandoned by society. He was a hero for them, to them.

Society had enough of heroes who only punched the bad guys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	3. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years go by, and exams are being taken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Cursing
> 
> We get Talyn! and Lilly! [excited screams] and also Logan! And, oh hey, is that a plot im seeing?

The years went by fast, faster than any of them could have predicted they would, and when both friends last expected it, it was already time to apply for high school.

Both had their eyes set on Atlas, one of the best superhero academies in the USA. It was said that to apply there you had to be the best in not only your classes but also in your whole school, even knowing that fact, Virgil and Roman didn’t let it discourage them. They had faith in their abilities and in the other.

“Come on Roman, is just history!”

“Why would I even need history? I’m going to be a super hero after all”

“Those who don’t know the past are bound to repeat it”

Roman looked at his friend confused and Virgil shrugged embarrassedly, trying to hide his face with the hood of Shadow

“I-It’s what Papa always says!”

“Eh, I guess he’s right” Roman waved his hand around and turned to his friend, smirking “Anyway, any idea what your hero name is going to be?”

“Isn’t it a little too soon to be thinking of it?”

“No!” Roman eyes where shinning, and Virgil could swear there was fire surrounding his friend “I’ve had my hero name since I was ten! I’ll be known as Regal, the most amazing knight in the history of heroes”

“And then there’s going to be an egocentric kid complaining that they don’t need to know history and you’ll be forgotten”

“Ack, why must you rain on my parade?”

“It’s my job as your friend” Roman groaned and Virgil smiled “But anyway, I think it fits you, Young Boss”

“Ugh don’t call me that, that’s how my mom’s security call me”

“I know” Virgil smirked “And it’s hilarious”

“Why am I your friend again?”

“Because my dad makes amazing cookies” With that both boys laughed

“True, but anyway do you really think the name fits me?”

“Yeah, you give off that…” Virgil paused, making some random hand movements “I don’t know, Prince Charming kind of energy”

Roman laughed and put an arm around Virgil's shoulders, pressing his friend to his side and making Virgil chuckle with him

“I’m flattered”

“Yeah, yeah. Now get to work Princey, or I’ll be the only one entering Atlas”

“Oh hush, we both are going in”

Virgil smiled, even if Roman was constantly assuring him that both were going to enter Atlas there was still that sliver of doubt. Would they really be able to get in? Roman had a lot of troubles in history and math, and Virgil couldn’t understand a word of Physics. Besides that, there was also the fighting part of the exam.

Virgil knew Roman would do well in that part; the boy could materialize weapons for Christ sakes, but what about Virgil himself? Would he get kicked out because he was a To Be? Kicked out because his Quirk was too dangerous for such a prestigious school?

“Hey, I can hear you thinking over here. What’s up?”

“Nothing, I’m just anxious about the entrance exams”

“You’ll do great! I’ve never met anyone with such a great control of their Quirk, and you are like wicked smart”

“Wow, careful there pretty boy, one might think you like me”

“Nah” Roman waved his hand, like dissipating the idea “I only tolerate you because you teach me history and let me eat junk food in your room”

Both boys laughed at that, the playful banter helping with calming both of their nerves and anxieties. It was hard to be a kid, it was hard to try to prove a whole society wrong, but both boys had grown up with people who believe in them. They had their parents, and their teacher who day after day told the classroom to reach for their dreams, to not listen to people, a teacher, and parents who day after day told them they would be heroes.

The anxiety they felt was calmed, at least for the time being.

-0-

“I'm going to fail”

“You’ll do fine Virgil”

“No, Dad no, you don’t get it. I'm going to fail and I’ll bring dishonor to our whole family, and dishonor on me, and our cow!” Jeremiah looked at his son with a small smile

“Is he aware he’s quoting Mulan?”

“I don’t think so” Aaron laughed, shaking his head

“Hey, kiddo, breath” He ruffled his son hair, no longer having to kneel in front of him to do so “You’ll do amazing, you are smart and have talent. It’s gonna be great! And we don’t even have a cow!”

Virgil breather deeply and tried to center himself. He looked at his dad and nodded, he was as ready as he could ever be to go to the exam.

The trip there was relaxed, Jeremiah had soft music playing in the background and Virgil was distracting himself with his phone. Apparently Roman wasn’t feeling much better

When his dad stopped the car Virgil opened his eyes wide, he could feel the panic clawing at his throat and in his need to feel calmer he had reached out to hold his dad hand

Jeremiah held strongly and smiled “Virgil, my wonderful son”

“D-dad”

“I’m proud of you, and I’ll be proud of you no matter what”

“E-even if I f-fail?”

“Even if you fail. You have defeated the odds, everyone told you that you could only be a villain but here you are! About to take the entrance exam to the best hero school in the US” he smiled, still holding his son hand “Your Papa and I are so proud of you my son, no matter what. Now go there and show everyone that Virgil Farandole is, and always was, a hero”

With that Virgil took a shuddering breath and nodded, he could do this. He had spent more than a month studying, his grades were one of the best in class (with a constant battle for the number one spot against Roman), he had the drive and motivation. He could do this.

As he sat down to take the test he stared at his credential, the number 2089 glaring back at him. He had to fight against other 2088 humans; probably more than that, considering he wasn’t the last one in the list, but could he really earn a place here?

He was playing with his pencil when someone else sat beside him; Virgil stared at the girl with beautiful brown skin and black hair, she looked slightly scared and stressed. He figured he wasn’t looking much better. At Virgil other side sat a boy that, compared to the others sitting around, looked relaxed and composed with the air of someone that already had been picked to enter the school. Virgil stared at him through his bangs in curiosity, and in that second the boy stared back at him.

“A pleasure, my name is Logan”

“A-ah, the name’s Virgil” He shook the offered hand and Logan smiled

“Good luck today Virgil”

“S-same”

When the examiner entered the auditorium everyone was sitting in, he took out some papers and started reading in a bored voice.

“Okay, let’s cut straight to the important stuff” He murmured “As you all know you have an hour to finish each exam. There are 4 written exams, one for every important thing.”

He took a small remote control and turned on a hologram, there was written everything that could be considered important for the examinees

“As you all can see there’s one for everything language related, one for everything math related, the other for the history of the USA, and a special one for the most popular heroes throughout history”

Here the examiner paused to yawn, making a few of the kids in the front row following his example

“You are also forbidden from using your powers; we have a few people with canceling Quirks around the room to prevent that from happening. Well, good luck and try not to die”

With that last statement, the teacher made the test appear in front of them and a clock started the countdown. Virgil groaned, they had started with math and he was ready to throw his chair at the examiner.

He could hear the panicked murmurs around the room, whispered “what the fuck”'s around the auditorium making him chuckle under his breath because same. He looked at the clock and noticed that there were only 20 minutes left, so he concentrated as much as possible. By the corner of his eye he could see Logan almost done and the girl on his other side messing up her hair, making it stick up all over the place.

By the end of the hour he could hear a few sobs, there was also relief, a few heavy sighs, someone making a half-sigh half-hysterical laugh, a general groan in the room and the defeated air in a lot of others. At least he wasn’t the only one feeling defeated because of the exam.

History wasn’t that different, but there were fewer sobs and more relieve sighs after that one was over. The language one was the hardest because what the examiner didn’t explain was that it was an exam on languages. There were different questions in different languages and honestly Virgil felt like his brain was about to collapse.

And then came the only one that Virgil was sure he would ace; the so awaited test about heroes, heroes of every side of the world, heroes with different powers, heroes that were called villains when kids and the ones that were always called heroes. When that one was over the room heaved a collective sigh of relief and the examiner laughed

“Be free tired kids” He dismissed them with a wave of the hand and the possible new students scattered. Logan gave a slight nod to Virgil and he answered back with the same gesture. In the entrance door, he reunited with Roman who looked like he went to war and lost

“Though exams?”

“You have no- Wait, yeah you have an idea because you just went through the same”

“Yeah, my brain is not working well either” He shook his phone in front of Roman “Want a ride?”

“In your beat down car?”

“Excuse me your majesty” Virgil rolled his eyes “I’ll make sure my future car is better” with that he dialed his dad “Yo dad, exams are over!”

“I’ll be there in 5”

“We’re driving Roman to his place tho”

“Valerie is at work?”

“Apparently”

“Okay, not a problem. See you in 5” With that Jeremiah hang up

The following morning Virgil entered Atlas again, getting as mentally prepared for the fighting exams as he possibly could. He might have to use Shadow a lot, but hopefully, he’ll be able to control it enough to not actually hurt anyone too badly.

He sat side by side with Roman and both were talking when the announcer of the program entered the classroom, their hair was all over the place and they had a shaky smile on their face.

“Hello! I'm Talyn and I am a teacher here in Atlas” They fixed their glasses and chuckled “Are you all excited? I mean you probably are. Okay! As you all read in the application requirements, you’ll have mock battles after this”

They took a folder out of their bag and messed around with the papers a bit. Then the giant screen behind them turned on and a hologram showing five different cities appeared

“Now, these cities that you all see behind me are actually owned by Atlas and are in no way real cities so you don’t have to worry about a thing! You can let loose with your Quirks” Relieved sighs could be heard around the place “Your enemies are… this!”

In the hologram, the image of a robot appeared

“There are three different types of robots that will act as villains. Your job is to defeat them”

“We are fighting robots?!” It was a general scream. Virgil stared in shock; that was definitely not what he expected

“Roman… Roman, I'm screwed”

“Can’t really deny that… Sorry”

Virgil groaned, this new development was not a good thing.

“Calm down, calm down kids, let me finish. There are three different types of robots and all of them are worth 1, 2 and 3 points accordingly and you get them by defeating them. There’s one that’s worth zero points. Your job is to avoid him at all cost”

They nodded

“Anyone caught doing un-heroic things is going to be disqualified on the spot! Good luck, you have half an hour to get ready”

Virgil groaned in frustration, he wasn’t even in the same arena as Roman. He knew enough self-defense and martial arts to hold his own but the others would be using their Quirks, and he was at a disadvantage.

He shook his head and changed clothes, wearing a black tracksuit pant and a grey sweatshirt, Shadow still wrapped around his shoulders as a cloak. He went out along the others several students and waited for the sign. The teacher, Talyn, started laughing at them.

“What are you all waiting for? This isn’t the pacer test, no buzzer to tell when to start!”

The class stared at them in shock for a few seconds and then they all screamed, running inside the city to try and defeat as many robots as possible. Virgil racked his brain to try and think about what to do.

He grabbed a robot of 2 points by their leg with Shadows help and threw him at 2 other robots of 1 point. He could do this; he could even immobilize the robots with Shadow and kick them away. That would work, right? He was in the middle of a restless attack when he heard a “Heads up!”

Virgil moved to the side in a hurry when he noticed someone was flying at full speed at him, or more precisely, at the 3 point robot behind him, that was going to attack his blind spot.

“Gee, boy! Use your Quirk!”

“It doesn’t work on robots, but thanks for the save” He turned to look at his savior and raised an eyebrow, it was the girl sitting beside him in the written exam

“Pleasure, the name’s Lilly!” She pointed at herself and smirked, “What’d you say we work together?”

“How so?”

“We cover each other backs!” She was still smiling, and Virgil gave back a hesitant smile “You make sure nothing kills me and I do the same for you!”

“Isn’t that kind of counterproductive? This is a competition after all”

Lilly waved a hand in the hair, resting it importance “Heroes need to work as a team, is part of the job!” she extended a hand his way and smiled again “What’ya say?”

“Sounds fair, I’m Virgil by the way”

“Well Virgil, let’s go!”

With that Virgil and Lilly kept each other as alive and safe as possible. They held on to the others clothes when they needed to duck and kept an eye on the others blind spot, having to push Shadow to attack a 2 pointer or having to fly and kick a robot in the face.

Virgil was still mostly getting by with only his self-defense classes and Lilly was destroying robots with one hit and flying all over the place. Virgil documented that in his brain; apparently, her Quirk gave her super-strength and the ability to fly.

“Less than a minute! Deploy Zero!”

Virgil and Lilly stopped when they felt the ground shook. Out in the distance a giant robot stood up, taller than any building around him and big enough to be considered a Mecha from Evangelion. Virgil gulped and Lilly cursed under her breath

“So that’s the Zero Points uh”

“It’s not really a wonder they told us to avoid him” Virgil nodded

“Let’s go Lilly; we are the closest to him. We gotta run”

“Okay!” Lilly got close to Virgil and smiled “Hold on to me, we are flying out of here”

“I don’t like flying…”

“Is that or death, but your choice kid”

“Ah fuck, okay”

He hugged the girl and Lilly flew fast enough to make Virgil lose his breath. When she stopped they were almost out of the gate

“Come on Virgil, run!”

And so he followed her, cursing slightly inside his head. He hadn’t destroyed enough robots to be able to enroll in the school, so now it all depended on the written exams.

Once they were out of the city Lilly turned to him and smiled

“Well, that was fun Darky!”

“Why Darky?” He groaned, making Lilly laugh

“Because you are dressed in almost all black!” She passed an arm around his shoulder and smirked “I hope to see you around the school, this looks fun!”

“Here’s hoping I make it”

“You’ll do fine!”

She laughed again, slightly slapping his arm. They shared a few more minutes of conversation while walking to the changing rooms and once there they exchanged their contact information, Virgil putting Lilly under “Lils” and her putting him under “Darky”. Virgil groaned in fake irritation and Lilly exploded in laughter, bending down to hold her midsection when he explained he wasn’t dark, he was just emo.

After a few more seconds of messing around, they exchanged goodbyes.

Virgil changed to his normal clothes, letting Shadow form as a hoodie, and walked back to the main door. Just like the last day he found Roman at the door, an exhausted look on his paler than normal face

“Did you overdid it with the swords?”

“There were a lot of talented people there Virgil. One guy was just throwing robots and debris and parts of buildings all over the place with just his mind”

“Telekinesis?” he asked, taking a chocolate bar out of his backpack and handing it over to Roman

“Apparently, but he never really threw things bigger than him.” He took an angry bite out of the candy and chewed, mumbling a ‘thanks’ that was muffled by the food “There was other that was just teleporting all over the place. One that had heat rays, Virgil!”

“Hey, Roman, breathe. I’m sure you did amazing” He smiled, texting his dad “At least between the two of us you have more chances of entering Atlas”

Roman sighed and hugged his friend one-armed “You’ll get in, somehow. I know it”

Virgil smiled, he wasn’t exactly sure of that. But they still had enough days to wait until the letters telling them their destiny appeared in their houses. They still could be kids, they still could relax.

When Jeremiah reached the school he greeted them both with a smile and an ice cream, making them light up in appreciation. After all the day had been hard enough, and they deserved a reward.

Unknown to both of them a pair of eyes stared at the boys with a grin. This was getting more interesting.

The following day found Virgil in front of the school again. He had sent both applications for the hero course and the general studies one. It was a hard choice and he had taken a month to think it over and talk it over with his parents and they all agreed that if Virgil wanted this extra security then they would support their son.

The general education screening wasn’t that much different than the one for the hero classes, they had three methods of evaluation. One was the tests that everyone took the first day, the other one was a physical evaluation where they would determine Virgil’s physical state and his ability to think fast in a complex situation, and the other one was directly a Quirk evaluation where he would explain his Quirk and show it to a commission of teachers.

He went to a room where different kids were hanging around, each of them nervous and slightly uncomfortable. Virgil could relate, he knew more than half of them were here because they feared not making it into the heroics course and still wanted a chance to be part of the school.

He waited patiently, and eventually, Talyn appeared in the doorway, a small smile on their face and a clipboard in their hands. They started calling people by groups of four by their last names and taking them to a different room. Virgil waited anxiously.

When his family name was called he stood to attention, being forcefully removed from his daydreams. He didn’t know any of the other kids standing near the teacher, but he followed the group anyway.

Talyn tapped the clipboard they had and nodded, before directing their gaze back to the group of kids, they cleared their throat and looked at them seriously

“A light refracting quirk, an enhanced hearing one, a small teleportation quirk, and a fear projection one” they whistled “Quiet a group! Think you guys can work together?”

They stared at each other and nodded, and Talyn started the questions

“There are five people trapped in an almost collapsing building. The villain is in there and has them captive. How do you solve this without risking the building structure and the people’s safety?”

One girl in the group raised her hand and Talyn pointed at her

“The teleporter goes in with the fear-inducing one, the one with enhanced hearing can tell us how many people are there inside and then the teleporter can send me in and using the fear the villain is feeling we can apprehend him without him realizing it?”

“Smart, now next” They pointed at one of the boys “You find yourself against a villain who can cancel your power, he has a powerful spray that can make people be under his will. How do you bring the mission to finish?”

“We use the strongest one of us as bait?”

“Who and why?” at that question she pointed at the other male

“We use the fear-inducing one as bait, and the light refracting one uses that chance to knock the can out of his hand”

Talyn nodded. They wrote a few things in her clipboard and stared at Virgil

“You find yourself under the control of a mental quirk, your workmates have to find a way to win against him but he keeps using your power to set them back. What should happen in that scenario?”

“The enhanced hearing one can use his power to share the orders the mind controller gives, and as such the teleporter can go with the light refractor one and knock him out, therefore kicking out the connection and mind control?”

Talyn nodded again, giving them all a smile

“Good! Now Virgil Farandole, please follow me to the next room where the Quirk evaluation takes place”

He nodded and followed the teacher, and found himself in a room with a long table and three teachers sitting in front of him. In his head, this was all more dramatic, with a lone light shining on top of his head and shadowed teachers criticizing his ability. But the reality was nothing like this, the room had good lightening and he could see the teacher’s faces. He sat down and nodded at them in acknowledgment.

“Virgil, correct?” He nodded “Can you show us your Quirk?”

He concentrated on making Shadow solid as a dome and sighed

“Whoever is trapped under the dome experiences fear unlike any other, the mist around there shows them what they most fear, and if you spend too much time in there it can actually scar you for life”

“Does it do anything else?”

“It’s solid enough to bring me things?”

He could see the teachers nodding and writing things, and he waited anxiously for their verdict

“Well Virgil, thank you for being here, you can now leave and the letters will be sent to your house in the next few days”

“Oh! Umh, thank you”

He shook hands with the teachers and left the room, going back to his house in a daze. He expected something else, something worse probably. He expected to be targeted and be told that a _To Be_ didn’t belong in the school. But in the end, it was like a quick interview.

When he reached home he threw himself face up on the couch, trying to force himself to nap and staring at Shadow swirling on top of his head. He was lulled to sleep with the repetitive motion of his quirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	4. Maximum Effort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The years go by, and nothing stays the same. In the distance a dark cloud comes closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a really fast paced chapter, and a lot of things happen.  
> Chapter Warnings: Following people, knives, use of Quirks

 

Virgil was bouncing his leg up and down with no intention of stopping. He was nervous, and scared, and about to scream. He had gotten both letters from Atlas in the morning, but his parents were at work and he didn’t want to open them yet, he had even turned off his phone so Roman wouldn’t be able to contact him.

Don’t get him wrong, Virgil was sure Roman had passed the entrance exam and was now a student of Atlas, but he had doubts about himself. He hadn’t really got the necessary points in the fighting exam to actually get a spot in the school, and during the quirk interview none of the teachers said anything to make him think he had impressed them. Virgil sighed, Shadow materializing and dissolving all over the place to show his owner mental state.

Shadow smoke was surrounding him, swirling and turning, turning more solid or more dust-like. It was like the cloak itself wasn’t sure if it was allowed to touch his owner. Virgil groaned, and the door opened. A frantic looking Aaron was throwing the door open.

“Virgil!”

“Papa, what are you doing here so early?”

“They kicked me out sooner than expected! Letter! Did you read them?”

“Not yet” He stared at the ground with a conflicted expression “I’m… I’m not sure I can read what they say”

“Would you like me to read them first?”

“Please Papa; it’s… probably too much for me”

Aaron nodded and grabbed the letter from Virgil outstretched hand, dimly noting that his son hand was shaking. He patted his son head and started reading, a smile slowly forming on his face only to be replaced with a frown. Virgil stared at his father with open fear

“Did I fail?”

“No, technically” Aaron smiled softly at his son “They accepted you in the school”

“But?”

“You are not in the hero course”, he paused, opening the second letter and scanning the contents he already knew “But they considered you enough to put you in General Education”

“Oh my god I’m in the school” Virgil had jumped to his feet, tears flowing freely from his eyes out of happiness “Papa, holy shit, I'm in the school!”

“Indeed” Aaron hugged his son and let a few tears slip down his cheek “I’m so proud of you my son”

“Even if it’s just Gen Ed. Oh my god, im gonna have a heart attack”

“Easy there champ, don’t die before you actually start classes” He increased the pressure of the hug and let a chuckle escape from his throat “You made it to the top ten students of the evaluations”

“Holy shit”

They were laughing, and smiling, and Virgil felt like this was a dream. When Jeremiah entered his house he found his husband and son laughing and smiling, the letters all but forgotten in the coffee table.

“Dad, I have good news!”

“Oh? What happened?”

“I got accepted in Atlas!”

Jeremiah smiled, he knew his son could do it.

-0-

It was the first day of school, and Virgil was already plotting Roman’s funeral. The second the other boy had discovered that Virgil applied for the General Education course and he was okay with being accepted in it he had started going on and on about the hero course. Virgil enjoyed his friend enthusiasm, but it was getting annoying.

At least, he figured, it was better than hearing him whine about how unfair it was for Virgil to not tell him he had applied there as a second option. It had took him two hours and a promise of ice cream and makeup practice for Roman to stop pouting about it

They had ride to school together in one of Valerie less extravagant cars, nervously chatting with the other. Trying to decide about lunch, about if they would wait each other or not, about break times, but it was complex when both were in different classes and courses.

They said their goodbyes at the door and went their separate ways, Roman winking and Virgil sighing in fake exasperation. Virgil stopped in front of a door and gulped, his anxiety was acting up and he wasn’t sure he would be able to survive the first day. What if he didn’t made friends? What if he was forced to be a loner? And if that happened, how was he supposed to do group projects? This was why he hated the fact that Roman was in a different class.

When he opened the door he felt calm, suspiciously calm. With a snap of his fingers Shadow was in smoke form and curling around his hands, and he stopped feeling so calm and happy. He raised an eyebrow and stared around the room, there was someone there that had the complete opposite power than him.

A short boy was walking around the room with a calm smile on his face, he sometimes stopped to talk to people and other times he simply stood by himself. Virgil squinted and the boy, feeling his stare, looked at him. He looked surprised, and when he walked closer to him Virgil noticed that the boy had his hands in front of him, all five fingers touching the five of the other hand. Virgil smirked; he was the one with the opposite quirk.

 “Hello! I’m Patton Sanders, it’s a pleasure to meet you! How are you? Who are you? Is this your class-?”

“Sanders? Are you perhaps related to the Quirk Specialist Thomas Sanders?” Virgil interrupted him, without realizing it

“Yes, he’s my dad! How do you know him?”

“He’s my specialist” Patton was shinning with how big his smile was “My name is Virgil Farandole, and yeah this is my class”

“Oh, I know you! Dad always talks about you because he finds your power so cool,” he said, moving his hands around to emphasize his point “and I have to agree!”

Virgil shrugged, embarrassed. He coughed and stared back at Patton

“So… where you the one changing the mood of all of us?”

“Ah, busted” Patton chuckled self conscious “I just wanted them all to be calmer, sorry if it made you uncomfortable”

Virgil waved his hand around, like pushing away the apology

“I don’t mind, I was just curious. Besides, why would it bother me?”

“Most people don’t like it when I mess with their feelings!”

Virgil could relate, but he decided to pat the boy on his shoulder and assure him once more that he didn’t mind. He understood Patton did it for a good reason and there was nothing wrong with feeling calmer. Patton smiled, and Virgil came to the realization that the other boy didn’t need his quirk to make people calm down and trust him, he was just likable.

They sat besides the other, talking and getting to know each other, and Virgil realized that this year wouldn’t be that bad after all.

-|-|-|-

“This year is going to be terrible”

“Well hello to you too Disney Reject, what happened?”

Virgil smirked; there, right beside his door was Roman with the biggest pout he had ever seen on his best friend. He looked hilarious

“There’s this dude? Taller than me, glasses, the one that could make things fly at his will from the entrance exam”

“The one who has Telekinesis?”

“That one, exactly! He’s in my freaking class!”

“And how is that a problem?”

Roman groaned and started gesticulating with his hands, body, and expression. Virgil stared at him amused

“He’s just, just… Argh! He acts all self important and making people shut up! The teacher wasn’t even in the room, and yeah maybe I was a bit too loud, but what’s so bad about wanting to make friends on the first day of class?”

“Roman, you came all the way to the General Education block, to tell me that a kid your own age told you to stop making such a ruckus and now you’re bitter?”

“Oh hush J.D-lightful, he just feels like he’ll be a problem”

“You are lucky the school day ended for me” Virgil sighed “Okay, breath. Why is he such a problem for you?”

“He’s strong, probably stronger than me. And I’m not talking about only Quirk strength”

“You are afraid?”

“I’m not scared of him; I’m scared of what his powers mean to my future position as a pro hero”

“Roman” Virgil grabbed his best friend shoulders and stared at him “As a pro hero you’re going to face a lot of rivals, a lot of competition. That’s the whole essence of being a pro”

“I know but-”

“And besides, he can make things float and move wow, big surprise” Virgil tone was charged with sarcasm “But can he make a sword appear out of thin air? No he fucking can’t. At this point your biggest rival would be that Japanese heroin Creati! And she’s in Japan!”

“I know that but-”

“Only you are holding yourself back. Don’t think of him as a competition. Think of him as a possible ally”

A cough stopped both boys from keeping with their conversation, and when they turned around Roman groaned and Virgil stared. There, in front of them was a boy slightly taller than Roman, with glasses, short dark-brown hair and deep blue eyes. To be more correct, in front of them was Logan

“Virgil, Roman”

“You”

“Logan?”

“Wait, Virgil you know him?!”

“He was sitting beside me in the written exams! Wait, is he the one you were talking about?”

Roman groaned “Anyway! What do you want here nerd?”

“Such a heroic action, name calling” Logan rolled his eyes “I’m picking up my friend”

From inside the classroom they heard an excited gasp and the sound of someone hitting a lot of desks. Virgil winced and peeked into the room. There, in the floor was Patton trying to imitate a mess

“You okay there?”

“Sorry, sorry!” Patton stood up and came running out of the room “Lo!”

“You saw me in the morning” Logan groaned, staring hard at Patton and making him float “don’t try to jump on top of me”

Virgil smirked, and tried to muffle his laughter. The other three boys present in front of him stared at him in confusion. That was all Virgil needed to burst out laughing

“Sorry, just” He chuckled more and pointed at Patton “You said you were picking him up, and now he’s floating”

Roman and Logan groaned, Patton squealed and started laughing

“That was so good! You deserve a-” Patton smirked, and floated towards Virgil “Patton the back!”

“Okay, enough with the jokes. Pat, we are going to be late” And with that Patton was literally hanging on to Virgil back, with his legs around the other boy

“Don’t just cancel your Quirk dude!” exclaimed Virgil, almost falling at the sudden weight

Roman stared at the interactions with a smile, yeah he might not really like Logan but Virgil looked happy, and his friend had always had problems talking with people. He chuckled a little; it was a good thing he wasn’t one to hold grudges for too long

Logan reminded Patton of the time again, and the excitable boy jumped down from his spot on Virgil’s back, allowing the boy to groan and stretch to try to spare his back. With a few goodbyes both groups went their separate way and Virgil smirked at Roman

“It’s a small world uh?”

 “You don’t even know the half of it Roman. See Patton? His dad is my Quirk Specialist”

“For real?”

“Yup, that one was a fun conversation. Oh yeah, they talked about this during first period, but does the hero section also has to start living here?”

“Mhm” Roman nodded and scratched the back of his neck “I don’t know how I’m going to tell mom, I don’t want her to be alone”

“Same… I don’t want to leave my parents alone”

They went walking home, a relaxed but melancholic ambient in the air. But nice things are not mean to last and Virgil felt his paranoia spiking, it was like he was being stared at.

“Roman, act normal and don’t look, but I think someone is following us”

Roman nodded; Virgil sixth sense and “Healthy dose of paranoia” had saved their butts in more than one occasion so he learned to not ignore it. Whenever Virgil said “I think something is gonna happen” something ended up happening.

They continued walking, with Shadow changing from solid to fuzzy from time to time and Roman making small throwing knifes in front of him. They couldn’t risk whoever was following them knowing they were making weapons.

They were about to enter a fast food restaurant while trying to shake the others off of their back but Virgil shook his head

“If this is something bad it would cause too much damage to other people”

“I know you are right but…”

“Let’s just call my dad, with him no matter what happens they would still be able to find us”

Roman nodded, Jeremiah could track them as long as he had something belonging to them, and since Virgil was his son he had a lot of things he could track him with. Virgil made the call as fast and discreetly as possible and when he hang up he nodded at Roman to let him know it was done.

When they entered a deserted street Virgil turned around

“Shadow!”

A purple plastic-like dome surrounded the place in front of Virgil, and they heard muffled cursing. Roman grabbed one of the throwing knifes and threw it at the dome. It opened a small fraction, small enough to let the knife pass through the space. It was supposed to close as soon as the knife passed but the ones following them were faster.

When the small space opened someone shouted “Disperse” and suddenly the inside of the dome was full of smoke. When both boys got close to the dome and the smoke cleared up a bit they noticed that there was no one there

“Crap…”

“Roman, why are people following us?”

“I don’t… I don’t know. Mom hasn’t made any big appearances with me so they shouldn’t know how I look like currently, and your dad is keeping away from the public eye too”

“Yeah, and Papa is not famous enough to get enemies…”

“We should… probably talk to our parents about this”

“Maybe… that was terrifying tho”

Roman nodded; he was still shaking slightly out of surprise and fear. They hadn’t even been able to see the faces of the ones following them. Virgil couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew who the person following them was. He knew he had felt that stare before, but when? It was like his brain refused to think.

Once they reached Virgil house Jeremiah hugged his son checking for any form of damage

“You are okay, oh thank god. Roman, what about you?”

“Im in perfect state Mr. Farandole”

“If you are sure…”

Roman nodded, but Jeremiah and Virgil couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to happen again.

In the other side of town two grown mans groaned, there was a thin layer of cold sweat around them and the one on the right could feel his whole body shaking

“It’s, perhaps, more powerful than we thought”

“Isn’t that good?”

“Maybe”

The one in the left nodded, grabbed the arm of the other and smirked. They had only go there to study their new person of interest

“Disperse”

In the place where two mans used to be was now only thin cigar-like smoke

-0-

Virgil sighed; he stared hard at the door of the kitchen and felt his resolve dissipate. He knew his parents would understand and support the decision of the school, especially after the phone call he made to Jeremiah, but it was nerve wracking to leave his parents house to go live at the school. He didn’t want to see his parents only during the weekends, he depended on their support.

With a heavy heart he opened the door. He knew he could go back home whenever he wanted, and his parents would always be happy to see him. He also knew this was needed to reach his goal of one day becoming a pro rescue-hero, but it was just really hard

“Dad, may I speak with you?”

 Jeremiah smiled softly, he looked melancholic but proud, and Virgil sighed

“You know uh?”

“Yup, school called us. Virgil, I know this is a hard decision, but it’s yours to make”

“… I want to” Jeremiah nodded “But! I’m spending from Friday to Monday every week and month and year here at home”

Jeremiah laughed; perhaps there was no reason for him to worry so much about his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	5. Friendships and Contacts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A dark cloud comes closer and closer. A storm is right in front of them, yet they can't see it  
> Warnings for this chapter: Violence, description of injuries, stress

It wasn’t easy getting used to the General Education Bedrooms, but Virgil was somehow trying. Thankfully he had Patton as a roommate, so he didn’t have to meet someone new and hope for the best, he already knew Patton was friendly.

Roman, on the other hand, was having a huge amount of trouble adjusting. When the Hero Course announced they were having roommates Roman was shocked, he had slept all his life in a single room for himself but apparently, there were a lot of people and not enough rooms. The roommates had been selected by roulette, and Roman was still angry at that

“Sweet Freya, what have I done to deserve this?”

“What happened now?”

“I'm sharing a room, Virgil, me! And worst of all I’m sharing it with Logan!”

“Why is that the worst part?”

“Because he is an incredibly light sleeper with a horrible wake up, who has a disgustingly complex morning routine which also includes music that is so unfair at six in the morning that is driving me crazy!”

Virgil couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing. That was almost a textbook description of Roman himself except for the fact that Roman was not a light sleeper. Roman grunted frustrated and threw a pillow at his still laughing friend. It ended in a weird and impromptu pillow fight that had both boys laughing

When the laughing fit stopped half an hour after they finished their pillow fight (every time they looked at the other they busted out laughing) both boys sighed while lying down in Virgil’s bed.

“Do you miss your mom?”

“Yeah… I had no idea I would miss her this much” Roman sighed “It feels really lonely without her random bursts of singing or dancing, or the whole ‘We are cleaning up the whole house with background music’ thing she always did”

“Oh yeah I remember those”

“It was fun. I just never figured I would miss it this much. What about you? Do you miss your dads?”

“Yeah, like, Papa had this routine of kissing my forehead before going out to work? And dad was always hugging me or reading me one of his new novels but now...”

“Yeah…”

“Do you think we’ll get used to this the longer we are away?”

“Probably, after all, it’s only the first week”

Virgil nodded, that was a logical possibility. But no matter how logical it was, it wasn’t making him miss his parents any less.

When both boys were drowning in their shared melancholy they suddenly felt a change in their mood. Virgil groaned and snapped his fingers, Shadow swirling on top of him and Roman

“Pat, stop trying to change our moods!”

“But I can see the negativity even over here!” Patton entered the room, a concerned frown on his face “are you two okay?”

“Yeah, homesick. Sorry”

Patton smiled and messed up Romans hair, he could relate to what the other two were feeling but Thomas had made sure to remind him that he could go visit whenever he wanted and if he saw fit to do so he could even spend the whole day there and only go to sleep at the dorms. They were really close and Patton didn’t want to lose that link to his dad

“Well, I’m not letting you two to wallow in homesickness, so we are going out!”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he heard a small draw out “no” out of Virgil’s mouth and saw the boy trying to bury himself in his covers. The image was honestly adorable and it made the other two in the room giggle.

They spent almost half an hour trying to convince Virgil to go out with them, and then Patton spent another half an hour trying to convince Logan who looked just as happy as Virgil. The two more energetic ones dragged the other two all around the center of the town.

They went to play at the arcade, Patton insisted on them watching a movie, then Roman insisted he was remodeling every single one of their wardrobes – thing he might or might not have fulfilled, Logan and Patton were impressed by how much money Roman actually had –

By the end of the day, they were exhausted but happy. Whatever weird rivalry was between Roman and Logan had dissolved to almost nothing and Virgil and Patton were as happy as can be. They were solidifying themselves as a group, and Virgil couldn’t have been happier about that.

The weeks went by fast, and Patton and Virgil saw the other two less and less. They understood though, the hero course was harder than Gen Ed.

It took another week for Logan to kick their door down and throw an exhausted Roman on top of Virgil bed.

Both boys were in horrible condition, they looked exhausted, Logan had a cut on his cheek that was still bleeding and Roman had actually passed out

“What the fuck? Guys, what happened?”

“Training went a little over the top today” Explained the drained boy, somehow still standing up

Virgil and Patton shared a look; that definitely didn’t look like training. Both were slowly starting to develop purple patches on the visible parts of their arms, Logan was massaging his head and he was still bleeding out of the cut. It looked like they had gotten caught in the middle of a fight.

Virgil went to the bathroom he shared with Patton and took out the first aid kit while Patton was currently in the common kitchen, fetching ice and preparing tea for both wound boys. Virgil sat down in front of Logan and started patching him up

“Shouldn’t you worry more about Roman?”

“He’s passed out, his wounds don’t hurt currently. And you are still bleeding, that makes _You_  a priority”

“I was under the impression you both were in a romantic relationship?”

“Wha-? Come on dude, Roman is like a brother! That would just be creepy” While he talked his hands were currently applying alcohol to a cotton ball “This will sting, try to sit still”

Logan hissed; the ardor was slightly annoying and painful. But Virgil was trying to apply the alcohol as painless as possible and Logan could appreciate it

“I'm surprised you are offended by the fact that I said a relationship _with Roman_ more than at the fact I thought you were gay”

“I mean, it’s not a good thing to assume. Besides, I’m bisexual so you’re wrong” He put a band-aid on the cut and smiled “But it doesn’t offend me. I have a preference for men anyway”

Logan nodded and touched the band-aid softly

“Thank you for patching me up”

“Yeah, no problem. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“I don’t think so, but I‘m worried about Roman, he did pass out after all”

“Don’t worry, he passes out when he forces his Quirk. It creates matter out of his own energy; he needs to eat a lot”

With that Virgil patted Logan’s knee and stood up. He wrestled with Roman to take off his shirt and started checking for wounds. Roman looked beat up, but he wasn’t bleeding. He only had some burns on his elbows that looked more like clothe burn than fire-Quirk burn.

While he was taking care of his best friend wounds Patton entered the room. He passed an ice bag to Logan and started applying some sort of cream over Logan bruises. After a few minutes, the bruises didn’t look half as bad.

When both boys were in better shape, and Roman had woke up, Patton and Virgil sat them down and forced them to tell them the truth

Logan sighed. He didn’t want to explain what had happened, but he also knew Virgil and Patton were in danger of ending up the same as them. He stared at them and frowned

“There’s some random idiot harassing Roman”

“Someone caught wind of who my mom is. They think I got in thanks to her paying for the school to give me an easier exam”

“That’s bullshit!” Virgil had jumped to his feet “Who is giving you shit?”

“Some random idiot. Don’t mind it Virgil”

“We are just telling you guys so you are careful. We don’t want you two to end up like us”

Patton sighed, he was just surprised the two boys in the hero course were beat up that badly. On the other hand, he knew Logan would only attack if his life was on the line, and Roman didn’t look like the type to try to solve everything with violence first

On the other side, Virgil was shaking in anger. How dare that person hurt his best friend? How dare that person hurt two of the people who had accepted him no matter how dark his Quirk was? If he ever found out who was hurting Roman and Logan he was going to make sure they never forgot who Virgil Farandole was.

Both hurt boys had ended up passing out on Patton and Virgil room, while the other two were looking at them with worry. It wasn’t right that they had been beaten up in a Hero Making school, and it was weird that someone had found out who exactly Roman was. The teachers were aware that Roman mother had a lot of enemies, some who wouldn’t think twice about hurting a kid.

When morning came all four of them were exhausted, but feeling slightly better. A month went by without any problems, and they all generally had sleepovers, it seemed less lonely that way. So it was no surprise that when both Heroes came by with a troubled look on their faces the other two had jumped out of their beds checking for injuries and asking what happened

“No, no, we are okay. We are just concerned”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“The teacher made us think of our future hero names, they explained how it was the most important part of our future identity along with the suit” Logan was frowning and Roman was muttering under his breath

“Okay, but why is Roman worried then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Roman has had his hero name thought of since we were… what? Ten?”

“Around there, yeah”

“Then why are you worried?” That was Logan; it was illogical for Roman to be worried if he already had his hero name thought out

“Because I'm starting to doubt it”

“Why?”

“I don’t know Virgil, isn’t it a little too… egocentric?”

“Look, I'm your best friend and it’s my job to tell you things straight. But you  _are_  egocentric Roman”

“Yeah” Patton was biting back a giggle

“Additional affirmation”

“I'm offended and hurt” but even saying that Roman was smiling

“Don’t be” Virgil waved his hand around “Is part of your charm. But let’s get back on topic”

“Okay, so you think I should keep on with the Hero Name I made when I was ten?”

“Why not?  _Regal_  fits you”

“Your hero name was going to be Regal?” Logan raised an eyebrow “As in, someone who is fit for a monarch?”

“Yeah, see I told you, Virgil, it’s weird!”

“No, I apologize. I didn’t mean it in a mean way” Logan had a pleased smile on his face “It does, in fact, fits you. You have… prince-like tendencies”

“So we only have Logan name to worry about”

The mentioned boy groaned, throwing his head back and resting it on Patton’s bed. This was going to give him a headache

“I’ve been trying to come up with something for years, and I’m still not sure how to call myself”

“What exactly is your Quirk, besides some type of telekinesis?” Roman stared at him confusedly, he knew Logan had telekinesis but there was something the other boy was hiding

“I can get inside people’s head and manipulate them. Is really useful when I want information but I dislike using it”

The other two nodded and Patton looked at his friend sadly. There were secrets that Logan felt obviously uncomfortable in sharing. No one would press him for information.

“So everything you do has to do with your brain?”

“Yes, why?”

“We can go the… like…” Virgil made some weird hand movements to try to explain without words “obvious route with your name”

“And which route would that one be?”

“Something about neurons… Nerve cells… Nerves” It was obvious that Virgil's brain was playing with the idea

He frowned at the floor, trying to come up with something that had a nice ring to it. Suddenly he faced them with a grin, he had it.

“ _Nervei_ ”

“May I ask why?”

“Nervei is just the masculine plural of  _Nerveo_. The Italian word for nerve”

Patton clapped, and Roman smirked. Logan looked impressed

“You know Italian?”

“Sure, where do you think I get the last name from?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have suspected”

“Don’t believe him, he only knows a handful of words” Virgil glared at Roman

“Still way more than you pretty boy”

They laughed, and at the following Friday, when the teacher asked them all for their new names, both boys were known as Regal and Nervei

The school day went fast for the two boys in General Education, and once it was over both went to their room to pack their bags. They were family-boys; if they could spend their weekend with their parents they would do it.

Roman was the same. Every weekend he went out to spend it at his mother side. Logan, on the other hand, had assured Roman he was okay with staying alone on the room, he had no wish to go back home and his mother was currently under the care of his older sister. There was nothing to worry about on his end.

When Logan was finally alone he allowed his mask to drop, he was exhausted and the whole family topic was only exhausting him more. He just wanted to sleep. Seconds after he succumbed to sleep he felt his phone vibrating. He stared at the number, his tired brain unable to process the digits, but when he did he shoot up on his bed. Why, why were they calling him?

“Hello?”

“Logan Williams?”

“Yes, he is speaking” Logan gulped; he had a bad feeling “Is something the matter?”

“Is about your father”

-0-

Virgil was tired; the school day even if really fast was exhausting. He was on his way home, his brain full of possibilities for the day. Maybe Jeremiah would make his favorite food? God he really wanted to eat his dad food. It wasn’t that Patton was a bad chef, but he really missed the things Jeremiah would make.

He was walking so absorbed with those trivial concerns that he didn’t realize he was being followed. He only noticed it when a hand was covering his mouth. He tried screaming but his voice was muffled, so in a moment of desperation he forced Shadow to surround them both. It was surprising but Virgil was never affected by his own Quirk.

“Wait, I just want to give you a message” It was a deep voice, and it felt hypnotic. The hand in front of his face disappeared and Virgil breathed heavily. He wanted to turn around and attack, but his body felt heavy.

“Fucking bastard” He spat “What do you want?”

“It just a simple message. Your real father says hi, and to wait for him with your eyes opened”

With that, the presence behind Virgil disappeared, and the boy fell to the floor on his hands and knees. He wanted to vomit, he felt sick, and his body wasn’t responding. This all felt like a nightmare; like he was underwater and he couldn’t find the way up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	6. Cavalry, Chivalry. Tomato, Solanum Lycopersicum (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Logan has an emotional breakdown, talk about cryptids (im... somehow sorry but at the same time no)  
> Am i embarassed by the Cryptids conversation? yes, yes i am. Also, more plot!

When Virgil reached his house he put his back to the entry door and slowly slid down it. His legs felt like jelly and he was afraid he might pass out, but he needed to compose himself. Jeremiah and Aaron shouldn’t see him like that; it would just worry his parents without reason

“Virgil, kiddo, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah” He coughed, his voice was shaking “I'm just really tired”

“Okay, come sit in the living room like a responsible human kid”

“I’m going to sleep first, you know, a tiring day”

Jeremiah stared at the direction his son's voice was coming from with a frown, Virgil wasn’t acting like normal. Yeah, Virgil usually fell asleep everywhere and was constantly tired thanks to the insomnia the kid had. But he was used to coming home and sitting on the couch, no matter if he fell asleep there.

He knew his son would come to him at his own time, but he couldn’t help but to be worried, Virgil was his son after all. He stood up and went to the hallway, just in time to see Virgil slip into the kitchen. There was something wrong

-0-

Logan threw his phone against the wall, making the electronic device shatter in different parts. His hands were shaking, and he could feel a desperate scream trying to escape his mouth. He covered his mouth just in time to avoid retching. There were tears going down his face. He felt sick enough to vomit

He sank to the floor on his knees and started laughing. It was like his worst nightmares had become true. He stopped when he felt two arms encircle him in a warm embrace

“Logan, Lo, what’s wrong?”

“He’s out, he fucking disappeared! Pat, we are fucked”

“Hey, no. No, remember what my dad said?”

“I’m not involving you two!”

It was weird for Logan to completely lose his composure, but he had stood up and was screaming. His hair was all over the place, the room looked like a hurricane had passed by, and Logan still had tear tracks on his face

“What are you doing here Patton?”

“Dad called me. He got a phone call saying… well, he told me. And here I am”

“Go back home, is safer for you there”

“I’m not leaving you alone, you are my best friend. Let me help, please”

“You can’t. I have to go home”

He started throwing clothes into a small suitcase, all the rage and frustration going into the luggage. He was fucked; there was no running away again. He needed to be home with his mom and sisters.

“If I'm not back by Monday let Roman  and Virgil know I had a family emergency” Patton nodded, a sad look on his face “And, Pat?”

“Yes?”

“…Thank you, I’ll be back”

Patton stared at his friend, he felt so frustrated. There was nothing he could do to help his friend, not this time. He sighed and stood up; the least he could do was fix the room

-0-

When Monday rolled around the four friends found each other in the entrance door. Patton looked tired but happy, Roman was shinning, Virgil looked like death warmed over, and Logan looked exhausted

“So, why is Roman sparkling?”

“Mamá insisted on having a spa weekend. Oh yeah, you all are invited to the next one” He put his hand forward “I even got a manicure, guys this is the most relaxing thing in life”

“I feel like all of us could use it” Logan noted, seeing the eye bags under Virgil's eyes “You look dead”

“I stayed up till five AM watching cryptic videos” he yawned, but his eyes were shinning “Did you knew Nessy is a lesbian monster? I'm happy for her” Roman smirked

“And the Babadook is gay”

“Yeah, I wonder if Mothman is gay too”

“Oh come on Virgil, Mothman is bisexual” Logan said, like it was the most normal thing to be talking about

“He could be Pansexual! Or just Homoromantic”

“While that’s a really good point Pat is obvious he’s bi and dating the Babadook”

Virgil nodded and seconds later stifled a yawn. He directed his tired eyes at Logan and for the first time noted how tired the boy looked

“And you? What’s your excuse?”

“I had a family emergency” He raised his hands in a placating gesture “All is fixed now, don’t worry”

They nodded, ones more concerned than others

“And you Pat? You look almost as happy as Sir-sing-a-lot here”

“Dad took the weekend off and we went on vacation! He took me fishing!”

“I can’t see Thomas fishing… doesn’t he forgets to tie his shoes a lot of times?”

“Yup, he forgot the prey and almost forgets the fishing rods here. But it was fun!”

Virgil chuckled, that sounded like his Specialist. The two tired boys shared a look and a small smile, they knew they weren’t saying the full reason they were tired but they also knew the other three were there for them. It was going to be fine.

They separated ways to go to their different classes and waved goodbye. Once Logan and Roman entered the classroom they sat down on the middle road. They shared small talk (“I mean Patton raises a good point, Mothman could still be Pan” “Yeah but if he is then I can’t make the  _He’s getting bi_  joke!” “You are almost as bad as Patton with the jokes”) until the teacher entered the room.

Their teacher was named Joan, and they were strict in the classroom. They made the classroom shut up and took out their notepad

“So, today we have a few things to discuss. But first” They stared at the class over the top of their glasses “We are preparing for the Sports Festival. I’m sure all of you have seen it on your TVs the last few years but is your turn to live it”

The class erupted in a flurry of sound and movement, Joan stared at their class until the students calmed down. They nodded and started reading

“You are allowed to use your hero suits, please go pick them up tomorrow. What else? Oh yeah”

Here Joan smirked, and the whole class sweated cold

“The other departments have a chance of getting into the Hero course. So do your best to not lose your spot”

A panicked silence followed his words, Logan stared at Joan with disbelieve and Roman cursed under his breath. They could lose their spot in the Hero Course. That was hard to swallow.

On the other hand, the General Education course was excited shouts. They still had a shoot, they still could become heroes.

“Calm down, calm down” Talyn made a hand movement and the class was silenced “We have to show the Hero Course we are better than them! I can’t lose this bet against Joan!”

Virgil chuckled at that, but Patton was raising his hand

“Yes, Sanders?”

“Anyone could go to the Hero Course?”

“Exactly, no matter your Quirk, as long as you get to the final you guys can become heroes, no matter your abilities. Look at me for example, I'm short and unthreatening but I’m still a hero. You all have the chance to become one too, and I believe in you”

Talyn smiled, and the class felt like they could conquer the world. The rest of the school day went by without much importance; the teachers of each course gave them the date for the Sports Festival but that was the most remarkable thing of the day.

 The four boys were currently in Roman and Logan’s room. The owners of it looked stressed, and the two boys were worried. It was a common expression of them to look stressed but today it somehow seemed worse

“Okay, spill. What’s wrong?”

“I'm assuming you all know about the Sports Festival?” Both boys in Gen Ed nodded “For someone of the other classes to go up one of the people in the Hero Course has to go down”

Virgil scoffed “Since when do you both worry? You can move objects with your mind and get inside other people’s heads. I’m sure you can also control them like a puppeteer”

Patton nodded “And Roman can make swords appear out of nowhere and is incredibly skilled with them, besides he controls them at will!”

“See? You two are worrying for nothing” Virgil patted Logan’s leg and smiled at him “More importantly Nervei, Regal. We need a hand”

“What for?”

“We need hero names too!” Patton was beaming, and he didn’t need his Quirk to make them all feel better “Since we kind of helped you two we were thinking you two could also help us!”

“Optimism” Roman was pointing at Patton “Wait, that’s too long… maybe Opti?”

“It sounds like him” Virgil and Logan nodded, it fitted

“So now we have the emo nightmare”

“Thanks, Disney Reject, any idea?”

Roman shook his head. It was slightly harder to think of something fitting for his best friend

“Nightmare”

Three sets of eyes directed themselves to Logan, who looked slightly troubled and deep in thought. Virgil looked slightly offended, Roman was shocked, and Patton was face palming. His friend needed a filter between his brain and his mouth.

“Why?”

“Think about this rationally, your Quirk allows you to show people what they fear the most once they are inside the dome, and when Shadow touches them they feel a general sense of fear and anxiety. You could be known as your enemies worst nightmares”

Another shocked silence followed his sentence, but the air was slightly different.

“It… might work” Virgil was deep in thought “Maybe not the best idea for a Rescue Hero but it could work.  Makes a strong first impression”

Roman stared at his friend slightly surprised and then smirked; Virgil wasn’t one to just accept something that might seem slightly offensive to him, so that meant there was  _something_  there.

Once both boys had agreed to their names the group of friends focused on their homework, it wasn’t easy being a high school hero. However, ones were more distracted than others. Virgil was uneasy, but to be fair he had been uneasy since that man grabbed him and gave him such a cryptic message. What did he meant by dad? His parents were Jeremiah and Aaron, no one else. He knew he was adopted but he always believed his biological dad was dead.

Virgil couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

Weeks passed, and the sport festival was here. Virgil stared at the public with a slight panicked look on his eyes. What if he messed up? Or worse, what if all of them ended up scared of him?

He shook his head; he wouldn’t allow himself to be scared right at the door of his dream. He was going to fight, he was going to win, he was going to move to the Hero Course, and he was going to show everyone that no matter your Quirk you can still be a hero.

He just needed a little bit of confidence, someone to talk rationality into his brain. Without thinking about it his feets took him to the place where Logan always was when he needed to think. The library

“Virgil, what brings you to my secret place?” Both knew it wasn't a secret place, but it was the less visited part of the library

“Logan, sorry”

“Sorry for what? You haven’t done anything wrong”

“I know just, you have to prepare too for the festival and I’m interrupting”

“I’m your friend Virgil, im here for whatever you might need”

Virgil nodded, that was an embarrassing thing to hear

“I’m just… scared”

Logan looked at the boy in front of him, so powerful, so talented, with such an amazing control over himself and his own power. But now he looked so vulnerable, he looked scared and insecure. And Logan wanted to protect him.

“You’ll do great Virgil, I promise” He petted his head for a few seconds and gave him a soft smile “You are one of the best in our group. If someone can do this then that’s you”

Virgil looked at him through his bangs, a soft blush decorating his cheeks. He could do this, Logan believed in him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	7. Cavalry, Chivalry. Tomato, Solanum Lycopersicum (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, also this chapter is kind of a mess. Here's hoping it makes a little sense

Roman took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. He repeated the process a number of times and opened his eyes.

In front of him, standing tall and full of grace, was the heroin Monarch or as Roman preferred to call her, Mamá.

“Ay hijo, you are so big now”

“Mamá this is embarrassing”

“Hush Roman, I want you to listen to me” Roman nodded and Valerie smiled “You are the son of a pro hero, but more than that, you are you. Do your best, have fun, and do whatever is needed for your own future. And no matter what, always remember that  _I’m so proud of you hijo_ ”

Roman could feel tears gathering up in his eyes and a knot in his throat

“I love you Mamá”

“And I love you, my little prince, now go out there and kick everyone’s ass!”

Roman laughed and nodded, hugging his mom as tight as he could. He allowed her heartbeat to calm him down and took a deep breath. It was time to fight.

-0-

“Can I really enter the hero course dad?”

“Of course! You are strong and talented, and there’s no one who can say otherwise. You have what it takes to be big and make it to the top”

Patton nodded, allowing Thomas to pet his hair. Maybe his quirk wasn’t one made for Hero Work but he could do this

-0-

“Our first test is about to start”

The voice of the announcer resounded through the place making the students nervous and excited. Logan stared at all of it with a calm and collected façade, while beside him Roman was tugging at the necklace usually hidden underneath his clothes. He could feel the nerves and tension radiating out of the sword user and it was starting to get to him.

“Roman, breath”

With that Roman stared at the bespectacled boy beside him. He took a deep breath and nodded

“Sorry, it’s just… a little scary”

“Well, don’t mind it too much. After all most of the pros here are interested in the third years, we are only here to show the world that we have talent”

Roman chuckled a little and nodded

“Do you always rationalize your fears?”

“You’ve known me for half a year, you tell me”

Both boys smirked a little, their friendship was weird. They were friends; just… there was a layer of rivalry there that neither boy was sure how to approach.

“Hey Roman”

“Yes?”

“Make sure no one tries to attack my boy while I use my Quirk”

“I’ll try?”

Logan nodded; it was a good enough answer.

Not long before that the gladiator doors in front of them opened and they came spilling out. Logan let his eyes roam over all the others kids in the first year. There was the General Education group, but there was also the Medical batch, and the ones from Administration, besides the rest of the people from the Hero Course B and C.

Roman was making sword after sword, none of which had an actual edge since killing wasn’t allowed. They could hurt people, but they had to dial back their Quirks to not hurt them enough. Logan sometimes pulled one of the swords that Roman created and before he could use them, Logan used them to attack someone

“Ask first!”

“Sorry”

They could see Virgil grabbing people with Shadow and throwing them to the floor, leaving them dazed and slightly scared, while Patton was flipping people left and right with a smile on his face.

There was someone flying at them in high velocity and Logan snickered when Virgil just made a half shield out of Shadow, making the girl slam against it and groan on the floor, but when he returned his attention to the general fight he noticed there was another person opening their mouth, Logan frowned, did that kid had bat ears?

“Shit, Roman, cover your ears!”

A high pitched screech came out of the person’s mouth, stunning a high number of the opponents and making Logan groan in annoyance

“Roman I leave my body on your care!”

Logan focused all his attention on the boy with the bat-like scream and suddenly he saw his body kneeling down. He groaned out of the effort to move a body that wasn’t his and made the boy screech again in the direction of an ice user and a strength user. He had to get rid of strong opponents first.

He could feel a headache starting to form, a small part of his brain reminded him that whoever he was using was currently fighting back against his control and he needed to go back to his own body soon. With a blink, he was back to his body and the bat-like Quirk user was passing out on the floor

“What was that?!”

“Part of my Quirk, keep fighting!”

The number of people standing up kept going down and down, Logan was sweating and Roman was having troubles keeping up with the sword creation. He could see Patton breathing heavily and Virgil grinding his teeth.  Using their powers like this was pushing them all to their limits.

“ONE MINUTE!”

Roman stared wide-eyed to the announcer, noticing for the first time the giant clock floating out of a woman’s back. The clock was joined to her thanks to a giant chain and Roman hide a wince; that looked painful

“Logan, do you know her?”

“Name’s clockwork!” Logan kicked Roman’s leg forcing him to the ground, just in time to avoid a metal ball “She can push the time back, heal wounds until she’s forced to turn time to normal and freeze time, besides you know, working as a giant –Roman to your left!- clock”

Roman materialized a scythe and with the handle he punched a kid’s stomach, making them gasp and cough. He panted; he could feel his energy reaching really low levels and black spots starting to form in his vision. Just when he thought he was going to pass out Logan slapped him hard enough to leave him stunned

“Less than a minute, keep awake!”

Roman grunted; he could see Logan shaking and grinding his teeth’s. Patton looked ready to fall over, and Virgil was grabbing a handful of his hair. They were all exhausted, so when the giant clock in front of them disappeared Roman allowed himself to fall back on the floor

He could see Patton trying to reach up to Virgil and the darker boy pushing his hand away, the obvious headache making him more than a little sensitive to touch. Besides Roman himself was Logan, trying to support his own weight and resting his hands on his legs. They were all exhausted, but they weren’t the only ones up.

If Roman had to guess he would say that perhaps more than half his class was still up, a few kids from the Medical area where still standing strong and of the Gen Ed department there was only one girl beside Patton and Virgil.

“I thought fewer people would make it”

“Same, but I'm more impressed at the ones that did pass out. You would think our full class would still be fighting”

Both boys chuckled, thinking back to the barbaric ways their teacher used to force them to do their best

“You have an hour and half of rest!”

There was a collective groan of relief and those that were still officially in the Sports Festival walked to the waiting rooms. The group of four went together, making immediate use of a group of chairs. Virgil rested his head against Logan’s shoulder, giving an exhausted sigh while Roman used Patton’s legs as a pillow

“I feel like death”

That expression was answered by three other grunts.

If Logan had to estimate the amount of time they were asleep he would say around an hour, perhaps a bit more. But when he woke up he realized two things, one that Virgil was currently resting his head on his legs, and two that Patton was probably going to wake up with a horrible neck cramp.

He started to think of strategies, no one knew what the next challenge would be like but he had to be ready for everything. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he failed to realize he was running his hands through Virgil’s hair. The only reason why he called attention to that fact was because of Virgil’s sleepy voice

“Imma fall ‘sleep again ’f you keep doing that” Logan chuckled a little and passed his hands through Virgil’s hair one last time before lifting them up

“I apologize, did I wake you up?”

“Nah, a side effect of the Quirk, I don’t sleep much”

Logan nodded, every Quirk had a drawback, it was no surprise that a Quirk related to fear and anxiety would avoid its user to get enough rest. Virgil sat down straight and yawned, letting a soft groan after stretching himself

“Should we wake them up?” Virgil pointed in the direction of the two other boys, still fast asleep

“Probably, they might want to think of a strategy for the next round”

“What are we even doing?”

“They have yet to let us know”

Virgil frowned; he disliked not being ready for the situations but he gave up with a sigh. It was improbable that a hero would be ready for everything, he just had to learn to adapt no matter the situation.

They woke the other two boys up and Logan stared around. Lots of people were still asleep, some were eating and a few were checking their Quirks, seeing how much they could still use them and how much it exhausted them.

With a glance around his friends, Logan focused on Patton, who immediately flinched and tried to push his control away

“What was that for?!”

“I apologize, I needed to make sure I wasn’t that exhausted”

“Jeez, you can ask first! That was a rude way of waking up!”

Logan nodded once and Patton gave him a small smile. He wasn’t angry with his best friend; he just preferred a warning before Logan decided to test his Quirk on him. Roman jumped up thanks to the commotion, almost falling face first to the floor. He apologized to Patton for the rude wake-up and for almost punching the more happy boy but Patton just waved the apology away

After a few minutes of them trying to brainstorm what the possible new challenge was the doors opened, showing the smiley face of the principal. She was a really bubbly and happy person, which greatly contrasted the fact that his Quirk was pulling people in total darkness.

When she entered the room everyone present there tensed up. She cleared her throat and gave them all a calming smile

“Students of this honorable school, you all are just now in your first year. Because of that, we as a school, consider that is important to hear your opinion.”

Behind her appeared a holographic screen showing three options

“You can choose what the next and last challenge will be” She moved to the side and pointed at the screen “Would you prefer a one on one battle, a “capture the flag” challenge, or another death match of everyone versus everyone?”

There were murmurs around the room, they were given a choice. Everyone already knew the powers of the others or at least had a vague idea of what their powers were, and none of them were really ready for another All VS All.

The principal stood near the door, a calming smile on her face the whole time. After a few more minutes of murmurs and of all of them pointing out the good and bad points of each option a decision was made

When the students informed the principal of their choice she smiled and nodded, before leaving the room with a cheerful “Get ready soon!”

Virgil gave an exhausted-sounding sigh and sat down heavily on the chair, making the other three stare at him in confusion. After a few seconds of the staring Roman started giggling and Virgil sighed again

“Are we missing something?”

“Vir has the worst cardio resistance in life, so running around…”

“Might make my shoot at the heroics class slip out of my hands, yeah”

“I was going to say that it’ll make you look like a fish out of the water Dr. Gloom”

Virgil gave him a crooked smirk and Roman shook his head

“Well, is just capture the… not flag, capture the cape, and we can use our Quirks so you might be able to steal a few capes thanks to Shadow”

Virgil nodded, Logan had a point.

The moment the doors opened and the teachers appeared to push them out again Virgil grabbed onto Logan’s sleeve and gave him a soft smile

“Thank you for this morning, by the way, I forgot to say so before”

The flustered boy nodded, fixing his glasses and trying to avoid a blush from reaching to his face. He pushed all the feelings aside once the giant clock appeared in the air once again and concentrated on stealing as many capes as possible. The angry face of Edna screaming about “no capes” making him break his serious mask for a second. Of all the things they could have put in the back of the capes, why did it have to be the one that made him laugh?

He came back to reality hard when he felt a tug on his cape and, using his own body weight he pulled the cape to himself. He came face to face with a red-handed Roman who chuckled in nerves and fled the scene as fast as he could.

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle. There was nothing wrong with it seeing as all of them were currently rivals and he knew they were all going to fight against the others eventually. There could only be one winner, after all.

He could see people giving their capes to Patton and laughing, making him chuckle a little. His best friend could be really manipulative thanks to his Quirk. The other end of the spectrum was right beside the sunshine boy.

People were giving their capes to Virgil out of fear and cowering slightly when Shadow solidified enough to actually take the capes.

There were, of course, those who refused and resisted the pull of the Quirks, and those were currently running all around trying to take the capes of the others.

Clockwork stood in front of them all, stopping time for the smaller clocks of those who had lost and making sure the time was added to those who took the capes. It was like a point system but with clocks, Logan was impressed.

He let himself be distracted enough for a girl to take his cape and he gave her a soft smile, he was officially out. It didn’t bother him, of course he wanted to compete against his best friends but he didn’t want it yet. There was no use in creating a rivalry before the due time, after all.

He sat down on the bleachers and took stock of how things were going. Roman was going around stealing as many capes as possible and trying to run away before the others noticed, while Virgil had abandoned the subtle approach and was directly stealing them thanks to shadow. He searched for Patton only to notice him walking in the direction of the bleachers

“Got kicked out?”

“Roman sneaked behind me” he had a smile on his face, but in general he looked bothered

“Are you scared of not making it?”

“You know my biggest dream is to be a rescue hero, I want to help people, and I want to save them… but I need the right knowledge to do that”

“And you don’t get that in General Education”

Patton nodded, staring at his hands

“My Quirk is pretty much useless except for making people smile and give them a fake sense of content” Logan was going to interrupt but Patton held up a hand “I know what you want to say, but you can’t really deny it's the truth. When I push it the only thing that happens is that it drives people insane with happiness”

Logan frowned, he knew it was true, but it was painful to hear his upbeat friend sounding so beat down and tired

“Do you resent it?”

“My power? No”

“Then?”

“I just wish it had more uses. Sure I can change the emotional states of people, even those who are terrified, and make them happy again, but once I release it? All the panic catches up in a second. I send people into more panic attacks than what I save” he gave a hollow laughter and passed a hand through his hair “How can I be a hero if I hurt people?”

Logan gave him a one-armed hug and sighed

“You’ve done great during the sports festival Pat, if the teachers fail to recognize so then maybe they are not the pro heroes this country needs. And you keep forgetting that you are still just a kid. We are here to learn how to help people even if some of us have destructive Quirks, if you think  _I_  can become a hero then rest assure that you can do it too”

They sat in silence after that. There were fewer people playing now than at the beginning and both could see Roman trying to sneak past Virgil’s defenses to steal his cape. What neither expected was for Virgil to grab Roman’s arm and flip him.

Roman stared at the blue sky with confusion. Why was he staring at the sky?

“…Ow” a few seconds passed “OW! Virgil, are you for real?!”

“Don’t sneak up on me you dork!”

The two boys staring at them chuckled, and when Virgil was pulling Roman to his feets the same girl that stole Logan’s cape took both their capes and pulled, sending them directly to the floor again

“ _Wha-_ ”

“Lilly?”

“Yo, mister dark and broody!”

Virgil groaned, Lilly had insisted they keep in contact, he just wasn’t expecting her to have lasted this long during the festival, especially when most of the Hero course B had lost during the All VS All fight.

“I’ll take good care of both your capes, losers!”

And with that the girl was back in the air, looking at everyone with an analytic eye

Virgil sighed, a frustrated smile on his face. He was happy she was still standing strong; it was just… seeing his dreams kind of being ripped out of his hands dealt a heavier blow than what he expected. He still had the next year festival, but he would already be behind the others. He would have to work harder, he would have to prove that he deserves to be a hero all over again.

From the highest point, the principal stared at the students still standing and at those that had lose, a small smile on her face. This year’s batch was interesting, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	8. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school was awarding the winners, and encouraging the losers to try again next time.  
> It seemed illogical to him somehow, like he was living a reality that got the wrong message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT PLEASE DON'T KILL ME  
> HAVE SOME MORE PLOT!

He was observing the TV with an unwavering stare. All those kids had a lot of potential, but he was only interested in two of them.

Their Quirks weren’t flashy, they weren’t combat oriented if anything both of them could be used for information gathering. A frown reached his face when he read their names. One was familiar, but what he knew of the other wasn't correct.

Screams from the other room snapped him out of his head and forced him to sit back on his stool, keeping himself in place only by grabbing the front of it. He snarled, more annoyed than intimidated by the threats of the screaming person, and stood up.

Once he reached the small cage where a man sat down, hunched over and obviously uncomfortable, he smiled. The sight of the smile made a shudder run down the tied down and caged man, and he recoiled as much as he could when a hand reached out to touch his face

“You know? I can see everything you fear. It would be so easy to break you” He caressed the man’s cheek and smiled “So don’t make it harder for you, yeah? We rescued you because we need you. Don’t make us regret it”

He stood up again, dusting his pants with one hand and giving a small grunt at the effort of standing up from a squat, and left the room. Before exiting completely he looked at the other from his shoulder and smiled

“Your kid has more potential than you. Guess the new generation really will surpass the actual one; don’t you think so Mister Williams?”

He left the room and closed the door, leaving the beaten down man in full darkness. He might not be as strong as his son on the screen, but he knew how to mess with people way better.

-0-

Logan felt a shudder go down his back. He stared around the open field and frowned, there was nothing out of the usual here, then why?

He frowned and shook his head, right now was not the time to worry about random feelings in the back of his head.

The school was awarding the winners, and encouraging the losers to try again next time. While one part of him felt disappointed at how easily he had given up in favor of his friends, the other part of him was sad and angry at the fact that his friends weren’t currently in the podium.

It seemed illogical to him somehow, like he was living a reality that got the wrong message. The three of his friends had given their all and that wasn’t being recognized. But honestly, how could a school that encouraged flashy physical and violent Quirks over more subtle ones encourage his friends to be better? It was pretty pointless to ask that of them.

Logan disliked having bad thoughts and feelings about his school, he had consciously chosen to go there knowing his secondary Quirk was going to catch their eyes –besides who needed to know he had a mind-swapping/mind-controlling Quirk? It wasn’t relevant- that’s why he only listed his Quirk as Telekinesis. If he could move objects to knock the villains out, then that was catching and a combative Quirk.

It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t nice, and in the end he was just giving in to the same system that created heroes like “The Symbol of Peace”, or the “Nuclear Hero: Ground Zero”, but cast the rescue hero “Atomizer” and the "Jet-Black hero: Tsukuyomi" as villains for more than half of their life.

But Logan justified it within himself. He just couldn’t allow himself the risk of being cast as a villain, couldn’t let them look at his records too closely, he couldn’t let them look at his past. A frown made its way to his face and he sighed. He was getting too worked up over something he didn’t really have control over.

The principal was going on and on with her speech and less than half of the students were paying attention, but Logan used the distraction to stare at his friends.

Patton looked normal, but if you knew the signs you could see him clenching his jaw, and you could notice the slight rise and tension on his shoulders. His hands were loosely at his sides, but the slight shakes gave way to how frustrated he felt.

Roman was exhausted, that much was obvious. But when Logan stared at him more focused he could the disappointment on his face. He had his eyes set directly on the heroin Monarch, and he looked at her with an angry expression, which after a blink calmed down to just sadness and disappointment.

Virgil was the worse off, in Logan’s opinion. His mouth was turned downwards, showing his bared teeth and all the rage and frustration, his eyes were cuddly with tears that he refused to spill and his fist was clenched at his sides. Logan felt his heart break at the sight.

All of them had tried so hard, all of them had such complex stories, all of them would be such a great example for kids with non-combative Quirks… and yet. Here they were, while on the Podium stood a strength enhancer Quirk, a fire-breath Quirk, and a flight-strength double Quirk. Three people who society would love and admire no matter what.

He sighed. It wouldn’t do any good to wallow in bad feelings.

But still, he wanted to do something for his friends, he just didn’t know what. He could always just give them a few encouraging words, but something told him that that wouldn’t be enough. Not this time.

-0-

The headmaster observed everything from her spot above the rest, a small smirk growing slowly and steadily to her face.

She reached for her phone and waited for the call to connect to the other side, her impatience rising every time the phone was left unattended. When the voice on the other side picked up her smirk was back full force

“We got them, boss”

“Are you sure? We can’t let you go out of mission if you aren’t sure”

“They just got the possibility to fulfill their dream destroyed”

“They can hold on to the hope of the next year”

She gave a small snort of laughter; as if that would happen

“They are young kids who just had their soul crushed. I’m sure most of them are entering shock out of sadness. Want me to kill them for you?”

“Your mission is data gathering. Don’t go killing people, not in her skin”

  
The headmaster pouted, melting away her skin to reveal the excited eyes and crooked smile of someone who might not even be out of high school

“And out of it?”

“Did you at least made sure no one saw you?”

“Yup, yup! I’m really careful with my Quirk after all!”

“As you should be, we are counting on you, my dear. Call me again if something happens, Williams is making too much noise so I have to go subside him”

The girl nodded excitedly, shifting back to the form of the Principal. She had work to do, and they were counting on her.

-0-

They were dismissed for the day and left to their own devices. The school had given the permission for them to go whenever, to go enjoy the rest of the festival, or to go into town if they wanted. Roman and Patton decided to go play at the games, they had energy and frustration to get rid of and that was what worked for them. But Virgil gently rejected the offer before turning around to go back to his room.

Logan grabbed his wrist and changed his course again, making him walk in the direction of the hero course rooms. He entered the currently vacant and empty room that was his shared space with Roman and hugged Virgil to his chest. He had to, his body was screaming at him to comfort his friend

“Lo-” Virgil chocked on a sob, his hands raising to Logan’s back and holding him like a lifeline “I fucked up, I fucked up”

The boy in his arms was shaking, still trying to hold back his sobs and pressing his face against Logan’s chest. He was so brave. Logan couldn’t help but wonder if someone had ever told him that

“You are better than most of the idiots in the hero course”

“I’m not”

“You are; you are stronger than them, braver than them. You’ve been holding on all this time, you are already a hero to a lot of kids that were watching this from their house”

“How could-”

“Kids deemed as villains for things they can’t control, kids scared of their own powers, kids listening hurtful words for something they didn’t ask for” He continued to rub gentle circles in Virgil’s back “You are a hero to them. Someone they can look up to.”

He felt the dam break when a whimper left his friend mouth, Virgil pressing close enough that there was no space between them. Suddenly his shirt was getting steadily wet and the boy in his arms was letting go of everything that had hurt him.

It wasn’t much what Logan was doing, but it was what Virgil needed currently. If his friend needed to break down and cry for hours then Logan would just hold him, and allow him to break down. Logan would be his rock, a pillar, someone who Virgil could come to if the world became too much.

He wanted to be Virgil’s safe place

“I hate this!” Virgil’s voice was scratchy and tired, he sounded broken “I’m not strong enough for the hero course, I’m not strong enough to win against people, I’m not good enough at anything! I can only be a villain like everyone expects me to be!”

“Virgil no, no, that’s not true”

“It is! What would you know?!” He pushed Logan away, stumbling back and glaring at the taller teen “With your perfect heroic Quirk, of course they let you in the hero class! How can you pretend to know my struggle?!”

“Because I lived it too!” Logan knew, in a small part of his brain, that he shouldn’t try to force Virgil to see his point, but another desperate part of him needed Virgil to believe him “I can control someone at will Virgil! You think I wasn’t cast aside as a villain when I was a kid?”

“Bullshit Logan!”

“My dad was a hero killer Virgil! It’s in my fucking blood!”

Both were panting, their emotional outburst tiring them more than the fights of the day, but Logan wasn’t done yet. He couldn’t, he had to keep talking

“It’s in my blood” He consciously relaxed his posture, hoping for Virgil to unconsciously imitate it and give his shoulders and back a rest “But here I am, my primary Quirk is my dad’s. I use my mom’s Quirk”

“Logan-”

“I know both are my power, but using his power might end up with people calling me a villain. I tried to escape that destiny, I ran away like a coward” He held his hand out to Virgil, who didn’t hesitate to take it “But we’re here to learn to be strong and brave, and you already are those traits”

He pulled on their clasped hands and pressed Virgil to his chest again, feeling the small temblors and little sobs running through his figure

“I am so proud of you Virgil, I admire you so much”

“Logan” It was a cry, a drawn-out sob, a guttural sound of pure anguish “I’m sorry!”

“Shhh Verge, you are okay. You’ve done nothing wrong”

They held each other like that for a while longer, both crying and trying to compose themselves, and yet both refused to let go.

“You are not a villain because of your quirk”

“You aren’t one either”

They pulled back after a few seconds, smiling softly at each other, and went on their way to find their friends.

And if Logan wanted to pull Virgil back again and kiss him… well, nobody had to know, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did yah guys liked that ending?  
> Also, on a more serious note, im terribly sorry about the wait and about how short this chapter actually is. There's a few things going on in my life currently plus the fact that college started back up the past month and just. A lot of things on my plate.  
> Hopefully this can tie you guys over until the next update
> 
> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	9. Up close and personal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had been on his way to school when it happened. He wasn’t in control of his body anymore, and even if he was panicking his body kept on moving to a different direction than the one he was trying to steer it to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has warnings, please pay close attention to them
> 
> There is a moment where Virgil isn't in control of his body, and the scene is really close to a molestation scenario. This is, of course, planned to look this way. It doesn't go further than someone invading Virgil's personal bubble but Virgil is explained to be scared and uncomfortable.
> 
> Besides that, at the end scene we see someone refering to their biological kid as "my object/property"
> 
> Other warnings include: Blood, violence, vomit, and a not-pictured but talked about panic attack

Virgil stared at the podium, the rage swimming under his skin. He had lost his chance. His one and only chance at showing the world that he could also be a hero. That he wasn’t a villain.

In front of his stood the three winners, and while part of him was glad that Lilly had made it… Well, he was frustrated.

He gave a heavy sigh and threw a side glance at Roman. His best friend had to show his mother’s family that he was deserving of being the son of the heroin Monarch, and he hadn’t made it to the podium either.

It must be frustrating, he thought, to have all your family expecting things from you; to have all your family pushing you to be something just because of where you were born.

He gave a small shake of the head. He was probably just projecting.

-0-

The days after the sports festival passed by in a haze that he couldn’t put together fully. The teachers had given the week off for them to get their bearings and energy back, and it was really needed seeing as the kids that Virgil saw were all in similar states as him.

Virgil had chosen to go back to his parent’s house. He needed as much comfort as he could possibly get and they were the only ones who could comfort him fully.

The talk he had with Logan helped because Logan knew what being an outcast was like, but it wasn’t enough to make him feel like his struggle had been worth it. Logan had a secondary Quirk he could use to hide the first one. Virgil only had Shadow

Jeremiah and Aaron had spent the week with their kid. And, as embarrassing as it was for him to say, he had spent most of the week cuddling at least one of his parents. He needed the comfort, and he needed to be reminded that he got there by his own strength. He wanted to be reminded that he wasn’t worthless

But everything good had to end, and the week had come to an end.

\--0--

He had been on his way to school when it happened. He wasn’t in control of his body anymore, and even if he was panicking his body kept on moving in a different direction than the one he was trying to steer it to.

His mind was a mess, he was terrified but he knew panic wouldn’t help in this situation.

What was this? Some sort of brainwash Quirk? A _Simon says_ type? There were too many options for him to contemplate comfortably.

When he reached a hidden off run-down business his body entered from the back door and stood paralyzed in the middle of the center room, his body was as stiff as a board and even if he could hear footsteps he couldn’t turn around to face them. A sense of dread filled him when he realized he couldn’t move Shadow

He was defenseless and alone.

The footsteps kept moving closer until he felt a warm body behind him. Whoever it was wasn’t touching him still, but they were close enough that Virgil could feel his body heat.

“Well, isn’t this interesting”

The voice was deep and scratchy, like the person spends too much time screaming. It made a shiver run down Virgil’s spine, his fight or flight instinct going haywire

“Virgil Farandole, fifteen, Quirk official name is Night Terror but he refers to it as Shadow”

The new voice came from his right, and if Virgil pushed his eyes enough he could see someone with a lab coat and a clipboard in hand

“Don’t push it brat, my Quirk is called Puppeteer”

The trapped boy swore internally, he couldn’t move except for his eyes and even then the man behind him was aware of it.

“Williams, stop”

With a click of his tongue, the man behind Virgil put some distance between them, and Virgil felt like he could breathe easier

“Anyway Virgil, Night Terror is really an interesting Quirk” The voice was moving around Virgil, but never close enough for the teenager to see his assailant face “What exactly is the mist, or cape currently, that is around you?”

He had been given enough control to talk, but he remained shut. He refused to answer

“Stubborn I see” The voice chuckled a little, murmuring something under his breath that Virgil couldn’t hear “I was just asking if you were aware. To me is obvious”

The man pressed his face close to Virgil’s ear and whispered, mockingly and with an underline of anger

“All of your fears, everything you fear is Shadow. You can’t escape your own terrors because they surround you all day every day”

Virgil’s eyes shoot open in panic; no one was supposed to know that part of his Quirk. No one was supposed to know that Shadow was the reason he woke up screaming, the mist form of his Quirk suffocating him, shocking him, making breathing a work far more complex than what it should be.

“I can see everything, all of your fears. There is nothing you can hide from my power”

The voice moved away again, leaving Virgil cold and terrified. He knew all of that, Thomas had explained that Virgil’s cape manifested the day he had been called a villain, the day his first mayor fear came to be. Different mayor fears had only grown to be part of Shadow. To be part of Virgil himself.

“Well my son, I just came for a visit” Virgil’s eyes shoot open again, and the man laughed “Maybe we’ll meet again”

He heard a set of footsteps move away, and suddenly the other voice was back behind his ear

“Your dad sure is feisty” it hissed, an almost animalistic snarl “We’ll see you around brat”

Virgil stood there, petrified and still like a puppet until the footsteps had long faded away. When the control of his body came back to himself he fell on the floor in hands and knees, shaking and gagging.

“He’s not my dad” he gasped, the taste of vile still heavy in his tongue “He’s just a fucking sperm donor”

He couldn’t deal with this alone, not right now.

-0-

When Roman felt his phone vibrate he lazily tried to reach it. He had tried to spend as much of the free week with his mother as he possibly could, and she had told him how proud she was.

Roman had cried. He had cried because he failed her, because even if she was proud he wasn’t. He knew he had to do more, he knew the family name was resting heavily on his shoulders, but he also knew his mother was not the one putting the pressure there.

It was himself because he had to be good enough to actually deserve being his mothers’ son.

He’d been in the dorms since the weekend, so Roman was enjoying the few more minutes of lazy time until he was being forced to put on his school uniform and go to class. That is though until his phone interrupted.

When he finally managed to grab it and check the number he smiled

“What’s up Nightmare before Christmas?”

“Roman” the vice was breathy and heavy, suffocated

“Virgil? Are you okay?”

“T-track my phone. Come pick me up”

Without a seconds hesitation, the royal looking boy set out to do just that. He sent an urgent message to one of his mom’s drivers and when he knew for sure Virgil was being brought back to the dorms he started to fix everything. It was uncommon for Virgil to actually have a panic attack, but he had had them enough that they had a routine.

When Roman had finished setting up the blanket fort his most trusted driver opened the door to his room and beside him was Virgil, pale, with his eyes rimmed in red and tear tracks on his face. He was a mess, and Roman didn’t hesitate to open his arms for a hug

Virgil threw himself in his best friend arms, shaking and crying and _terrified,_ and Roman just held him, being the pillar his best friend –his brother- needed.

He let him cry for a few minutes, trying to calm him down softly and to show he was safe. But when Virgil calmed down and his wailing subsided to just a few sniffles Roman sat them down in the pillow fort

“Verge, you need to tell me what happened”

“That fucking sperm donor- he- they”

“Which sperm donor? What are you talking about?”

“My biological father”

Roman stared at his friend in shock, his eyes opening without his input. He made a hand motion for his friend to go on and Virgil took a deep breath

“Call- Patton, and Logan- where?”

Roman took his phone out and typed a short message, and then he turned to Virgil and nodded “they’re on their way”

The two best friends waited for a few minutes for the other two to appear, Virgil taking those moments to calm down his breathing and to drink some water. There was part of the story that he was missing, but Virgil didn’t know where to look for the rest of the puzzle pieces.

When Logan threw open the door with Patton behind him the two sets of best friends nodded at each other. There was no way they were going to class.

The ambient was tense and the air could be cut with a knife, but even with that Virgil took a deep breath and nodded. He sat down and the other three imitated him, Logan and Roman immediately sitting beside him and letting Patton sit in front, and in the back of his head Virgil could feel the comfort of sitting in the middle while holding Logan’s hand, feeling the weight of Roman’s hand on his shoulder, and Patton’s hand on his knee while being able to see the calm and compassionated face of Patton in front of him. He could do this.

“You know how we never talked about our Quirks names?”

“Yeah, it never came up”

“Well… it kind of came up now”

Virgil stared at his hands, unable to look at any of his friends in the eyes. The only one of the group that knew Shadow wasn’t his Quirk name was Roman. But even then, not even Roman knew the drawbacks of his abilities.

“My Quirk is called Night Terror.” He stared at his friends and sighed “I can call everyone’s biggest fears to the front of their minds. I’m anxiety. I’m the monsters under the bed. I’m what everyone is afraid of and no one can explain”

“Virgil-” Virgil raised a hand, interrupting Patton who sighed and nodded

“Shadow is everything I fear” A stunned and confused silence fell into the room

“What do you mean?”

“Shadow, the hoodie you currently see, it first formed when my first mayor fear came to be. Then it started to grow. When I realized my parents could die it grew, and when I noticed that I wasn’t normal it tripled. It kept on growing whenever I feared something. It wakes me up at night showing me all the realities where my fears come true.”

He gave a chocked laughter and messed up his hair

“Night Terror and Shadow are one and the same. Shadow just sounds better to me”

“Virgil, while we appreciate you trusting us with this information” Logan cleared his throat, an uncomfortable lump trying to choke him “May I ask why?”

“No one knows this besides my parents and now you guys” He sighed, the weight of the world now on his shoulders “At least I thought so. Someone controlled my movements today and… they forced me to go to an abandoned building. Said their Quirk was called Puppeteer-”

A gasp interrupted him, calling everyone’s attention to Patton

“P-Puppeteer you say…”

“Patton? Do you know this person?”

“I-”

“That would be the name of my Quirk”

The stares fell on Logan, who tried to remain impassive but failed. His face looked slightly scared, confused, a torrent of emotions he was trying to repress

“To be more accurate is my Father’s Quirk”

“Your- Your father?”

“Yours is not the only story without telling Virgil, even if I told you part of it the other day. But let’s not go out of track.” He frowned, uncomfortable “I can share my story later”

Virgil nodded. If Logan needed him to finish talking to get his thoughts in order then he would do it

“This person made me go to an abandoned building, I couldn’t- I had no control over my movements. I had no control over Shadow” he suppressed a shudder and pressed himself slightly closer to Logan “Then someone else appeared… said he was my dad”

“But you are adopted…”

“He said he was my biological dad. I, I don’t know, he…” He shuddered, and Logan passed an arm around his shoulders

“Is that all that happened?”

“I… no”

“You can trust us, Virgil, we promise to protect you”

“The person who was controlling me… they- I…” Virgil swallowed, his throat feeling like sandpaper “I mean, they didn’t really do anything but. They were just… too close to me. It felt like I was prey”

“Did he touch you anywhere?”

“No, the other man stopped him” Logan gave a relieved sigh and pressed Virgil closer to him “But… He could see my fears, he knew what Shadow was. He said we’ll meet again”

\--0—

The man shuddered, regretting the second he opened his mouth, regretting the second he allowed himself to forget that he was only an instrument. Only a weapon of control.

“Listen here you waste of air” the other man snarled “I don’t care that you couldn’t put your hands on your kid. I'm not allowing you to touch my property”

“You don’t even see him as your son” He growled, staring with distaste at the boots in front of his face

“I don’t have to see a weapon as a carefully crafted artifact to appreciate its destructive power. Besides, Virgil might be nothing more than an object but he is still my object” He kicked the man’s face and snarled “Don’t get close to my things Derik Williams”

Derik lay down on the ground, his mouth slowly filling with blood. He pushed his Quirk to the man in front of him but all he received for his troubles were a splitting headache and a smirk

“If I know what you fear I can think of it. Do you really think you can control me? I’m not a kid; I have more experience than you”

He left the room and locked the door, leaving Derik to slowly stand up and to touch his now sensitive jaw. He spits a gobble of blood and frowned.

“Fucking Agni”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was all in all really heavy. If you think the warnings i put at the begining of it are not enough please let me know so i can add more warnings. I don't want people to be triggered while reading this story, but for that i need you guys to tell me what might be too much for you and what you might need tagged.  
> I hope this chapter is of you guys like even if it's relatively packed
> 
> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


	10. Of stories untold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: THIS CHAPTER DEALS WITH EXTREME VIOLENCE  
> Theres mentions of abuse, of physical violence, implied marital rape, alcohol, psychological violence.
> 
> The final Notes will include a resume of the chapter in case you feel like you can't read it by whatever reason. I deeply apologize if this triggers any sort of bad memory to you, and i can perfectly understand if you can't keep reading this for your own mental health
> 
> The bolded lines [---0---] mark the beggining of Logan's flashbacks and story. I think the part before that and the very ending are safe to read without worry but in any case please proceed with caution during this chapter

“He could see my fears, he knew what Shadow was. He said we’ll meet again”

“Well, that sure isn’t foreshadowing”

“Is… is that the correct word even Patton?”

The bespectacled boy stared intently at Roman and then shrugged and smiled

“Probably not!”

Logan shook his head and Virgil gave him a small smile, their friends couldn’t keep the serious atmosphere going for too long. It would usually be a bad thing, but even if they needed to break the serious moment from time to time they actually were pretty good at being and talking seriously.

Logan contemplated his friends. All of them shone in their own lights, ones brighter than the others and ones more beautifully than the others. He hid a blush at that thought, his eyes instantly going back down to Virgil still trapped in that half-hug he had given him for comfort. The warm that the shorter boy was expelling was comforting.

He gave a small sigh, pushing his head back and staring at the ceiling, he just had to explain what his Father had to do with all this mess. It was easy, words were easy. Why wasn’t he talking!

“Logan?”

He forced his eyes back to the boy pressed to his side, noticing for the first time that his own breathing was way faster than what it should. He took a deep breath and forced his erratic heartbeat to calm down

“I guess… there are some stories to tell”

The attention of the group pressed back on him, he wanted to bend down and hide in a small ball of shame. The only thing preventing him from doing so was the warm that they all had in their eyes. No one was judging him. He was safe.

“My dad… Derik Williams…” the memories were swimming in front of his eyes, messing with his head more than they should.

“Derik Williams married my mom for convenience. She was rich, he was poor but charming. She ended up pregnant with a girl… and he almost kills them”

**\---0---**

“I’m not letting my first born be a girl!”

“What’s so wrong with that?”

“You are supposed to birth a boy for me, a son to be strong enough to take over the world by my side. It’s worthless if you can’t even do that right”

Keren Williams was once a beautiful woman, with sun-kissed skin and bright brown eyes, her hair falling in gentle waves across her round cheeks. She gave off a shiny feeling, a warm feeling of protection. She was once a happy person.

When she met Derik Williams he made her feel like the stars shined for her, he made her feel like she was special. He made her love him, only to show what he really was once he had her hand in marriage.

Keren Williams wasn’t aware that her life will end the day she met Derik, just like she wasn’t aware she’ll be stuck in a loveless marriage with three kids born in an unhappy place.

She wasn’t aware of a lot of things, but now that she was cradling her newborn baby girl in her arms, trying desperately to keep her away from the monster that refused to accept a first-born daughter, she was suddenly aware that this man will eventually be the end of everything she loved and once was.

“You can’t kill her! She’s your own daughter!”

“And what good is a daughter, ha?! I have to pay everything for her until she marries!”

“What’s wrong with you?!”

A slap in her face makes her shut up, the shock and pain strong enough to bring tears out of her inexpressive face.

“You’ll raise that girl by yourself. And next time you better give me a son”

And Keren hates herself, because she wasn’t able to stop it the first time, and because she lets it happen again and again. She hates herself because she can’t protect her oldest daughter, and the one that came after her, she hates herself because she couldn’t protect the precious bundle of joy and curiosity that was her only boy.

She hates herself because whenever she looks at Logan or her daughters she remembers that man hands in her skin, she remembers begging, she remembers her own powerlessness.

When Logan is five he shows sign of his mom's Quirk, and she feels so utterly happy and proud because that means her precious and happy son can’t become what that man wants. It means she can still protect him, even if that is killing her slowly

But then Logan accidentally controls his sister, and that man grins as wickedly as he can. That man forces him past his limits and when Logan fails he punches him, he hurts him, and Keren is powerless to do anything.

Her only calm comes when Logan is old enough to be enrolled in school. She knows her son is a genius and is more than aware that he’ll be fine.

Logan is shy and serious, he is pragmatic, he is traumatized by things he shouldn’t yet comprehend, but he is still as curious as ever, still as happy as he can possibly be. He just learned to not show anything in front of that man.

And it kills Keren inside, to see her son looking happy and relaxed only to suddenly become an empty vessel whenever that man enters the room.

When Logan is 8 a new kid moves into the city and into his classroom. He explains how his Quirk brings happiness to people, but that it feels weird once it stops. He shyly tells her about how happy Patton –his name is Patton and Keren can only smile at that- was when Logan showed off his power.

They become best friends so quickly that Keren can’t help but to feel impressed. Logan is shining again and his curiosity is back tenfold. And Keren is terrified.

So when Logan asks for the first time if Patton, frail precious Patton, can stay the night in their house Keren is quick to reject it. She explains her reasons of course, and Logan  - being the smart kid he is - understands. So he changes tactics.

“Then… can I stay at his place?”

“I’ll need to talk to his parents… but I don’t see why not”

“Would… is He going to say no?”

“I can take care of him, don’t worry about a thing Lolo, your mom has this”

And she is rewarded with a beaming smile

But Keren is only human, even if it pains her to admit it. So when Derik almost _touches_ one of her daughters she flees, taking her first and second child out in the night and in the direction of her parent’s house. She’ll come back for Logan, even if she has to stay there suffering forever.

Her parents deny her the way out, even as she screams and pleads for them to let her get her son. And a week after that, when the bruises are finally lifted from her face and she looks at least a part the women she was once in a time, her parents let her go to grab her son. The visual in front of her almost breaks her heart, and she knows that fucker hurt her child more than she is even willing to imagine.

She holds her crying son, whose sobs are racking all his body and every part of the calm mask he has is broken in the floor, while he tells her the nightmare of a week he’s had. And Keren hates herself, and she hates her parents, and more than anything she hates that man and whatever god is there that allowed him to exist.

When Logan goes back to school Patton frets over him, trying to take care of him and holding back sobs. He had always been an empathic crier, and seeing his friend bruised and broken is almost enough to bring him to his knees in pain but he knows he has to be strong for Logan.

Years pass in a similar enough way, with Logan’s sisters living with his grandparents and him and his mom living with that man. Years of a worried Patton, of a crying Logan, of a broken Keren.

But things change the first time Logan manages to get Patton in his house. There was no option, looking back on it, because the Sanders house was being painted and Thomas wanted Patton to be somewhere else for the day. Derik wasn’t supposed to be home that day.

When the Williams heard the car Logan hurried to push Patton to his room, pushing him softly to the small walk-in closet and closing the door behind him.

“Please, please just stay there. I’m begging you”

Patton nodded, too terrified to deny his best friend request. Logan tried to calm his breathing and headed downstairs, if he was already there when that man entered the room there was less chance that his mom would be attacked.

When he reached downstairs Derik was opening the door. They came face to face with the other, Logan pushing a small smile to his face

“Hello father”

“Ah Logan, what good is to see you”

He shivered, scolding himself for showing how disgusted that phrase made him feel. But his face remained expressionless, a small smirk playing on his lips. If he played to be what that man wanted then no one would get hurt, nothing bad will happen, Patton would be able to get out of there before Derik noticed anything.

“Say, my son, why does the house smell like baking?”

“Mother and I decided to try cooking”

“Is something happening today?”

“Nothing father”

Derik nodded, petting his son's hair and purposely ignoring the disgust clearly written on Logan’s face. Suddenly he grabbed a fistful of Logan’s hair and pushed his son face close enough to his own, Logan could smell the heavy odor of alcohol hitting him in the face and the burning of his skull where the man was gripping his hair

“I don’t fucking like it when you two lie to me, Logan!”

“I'm not lying! Let me go!”

“Shut up! Speak you waste of space!”

“LET ME GO!”

Derik moved to the side, expertly dodging the wall ornament that was currently flying off in his direction. He slammed Logan’s head against the stairs railing and growled

“Try that again you bitch!”

“Derik, let him go!”

**\---0---**

Logan interrupted his own retelling, quickly clearing off a tear that was trying to make it past his eyes. He chuckled a little and shook his head

“I ended up with a concussion, it was a first”

“Logan…”

“What happened after?” Virgil was softly holding Logan’s arm, rubbing soothing circles on the skin of his hand and wrist

“I came out of my hiding spot” Patton interrupted, staring at his own lap and refusing eye contact

“Even though I told him to stay there”

“I’m not sure you know this, you did pass out but…”

“But?”

“You were crying, you and Keren”

**\---0---**

Patton covered his mouth, horrified at the things he could hear. Logan was sobbing, his strong best friend who hardly ever showed his emotions was sobbing as loudly as a newborn.

When he heard Keren screaming, sobbing and begging “no” Patton took a steadying breath and ran out of his hiding place. He wanted to be a hero when he grew up. What kind of hero hides and cowers while people need help?

When he reached the bottom of the stairs he froze.

Keren looked like a puppet, glassy-eyed and immobile.  Logan was passed out on the floor, his head bleeding a little and his face froze in a painful expression

Patton ran to kneel down next to his friend, checking the injury and trying to bring him back to focus. Logan groaned, forcing his eyes open and staring in shock at Patton. He was disoriented; the last thing in his memories was the burning fear of death and now he was staring up at his best friend?

“P-Pat?”

“Logan, you are awake!”

Both boys heard the terrifying sound of footsteps coming to their direction, Logan trying to force himself to move and at least sit down while Patton was trying to think of a plan. His dad had always told him to not push his power more than a certain point because it could hurt people, but was it really hurting someone if he was doing it to protect someone else? What were the limits? What was correct?

When Derik appeared around the corner Patton made his decision, activating his power and directing it to Derik

Logan witnessed his dad smiling, then chuckling, then laughing hysterically and eventually crying with laughter. Derik was standing up straight, tall and threatening

“This is amazing, brat! Logan, with this we can conquer the world! We won’t need anything else!”

Logan shuddered, staring terrified at his father. But as suddenly as it began it ended, and Derik fell to his knees, shaking and sweating and pressing a hand to his mouth in order to keep his lunch in place. Logan took his chance when he saw it, forcing himself to manipulate his dad.

Usually whenever he tried Derik would manipulate him back, but this time Logan managed to swap and lock, forcing his dad to sit down

“Pat, p-police, call them”

Patton nodded, running to the phone and dialing the number he was forced to know from memory. When they picked up he started sobbing, begging the police to come to the house. He hangs up when the female on the other end told him she had his direction located and to remain safe and ran back to Logan

They waited in tense silence, Logan's face one of concentration and pain, until the police broke down the principal door. At that second Logan let his control slip and Derik broke free of his son power. He lunged to the two kids, only being restrained by one of the police officers

“HE CAN MANIPULATE PEOPLE!”

The female officer smiled, not taking her eyes off of Derik and nodded at Logan’s scream

“I can cancel Quirks”

Derik growled, trying to trash free of the officer hold. Keren took a deep breath like a dying woman and started to cough, making Logan and Patton run down to her.

When Logan was close enough to Derik the man started talking

“Think you are better than me?” Logan froze, staring at his dad with shock in his eyes “We aren’t that different brat, I RAISED YOU!” Derik laughed, still shaking thanks to Patton’s quirk “You are still half of me! You’ll end up like me one day!”

The female officer hit him once in the neck and Derik fell, knocked out thanks to the punch. She stared worriedly at Logan and gave him a soft smile

“Don’t believe him, you are not your parent”

Logan nodded, feeling cold all over and ran back to his mom. Keren was crying, and when she saw her son running to her she hugged him like her life depended on it, petting his hair and remarking how proud of him she was.

**\---0---**

“What he said… is still something I have troubles with not believing” Admitted Logan, holding Virgil’s hand and keeping his gaze there, like it was the most interesting thing in the world

“He lied to you Logan”

“You are nothing like him!”

“Thanks, Patton, Roman, but a part of him is right. I am lying about only having one Quirk; I’m deceiving and using that lie to my benefit”

“But you did it for a good reason. You are learning to be a hero” Virgil squeezed his hand more strongly, staring at him until Logan had to move his gaze away. “You are nothing like that bastard”

“Thanks, guys”

And if Logan’s voice sounded choked up, well, no one would say anything about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TL:DR
> 
> Logan explains his story to the group, how his father was constantly hurting him, his mom, and his two older sisters. One day when Derik (Logan's father) tries to touch his own daughter Keren [Logan's mom] runs away with both girls to the safety of her parent's house. They refuse to let her go get Logan because Keren was deeply hurt. When she comes back for him Logan is incredibly hurt and cries.  
> Eventually Logan meets Patton and both become really close friends, Logan ask for Patton to come and Keren says no and explain he reasons. Eventually Patton gets to go to Logan's house cause his own was being painted. Derik was supposed to be in a bussiness trip and comes home drunk. He hurts Logan and gives him a concussion, making him pass out. Patton is hidding in the walk in closet. when he hears Logan and Keren cry out, he decides to go down and help and ends up using his Quirk [Called Euphoria] to make Derik extremely happy, Once he withdraws his Quirk Derik falls down shaking, sweating, and almost vomiting.  
> Logan controls Derik with puppeteer, and they call the police. Derik tells Logan he will end up like him. Logan feels terrified.


	11. Tenderness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He stood up and hugged them both; feeling seconds later Roman’s arms circling them all. Patton felt happy there, hugging his best friends and being hugged in return.  
> Soft moments of tenderness were to be appreciated after all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: slight mature talk

Patton stared at Logan and Virgil, and his eyes went to their clasped hands. A small smile made its way to his face and Patton did nothing to restrain it. He was happy, he was glad; Logan had found someone who could bring him comfort even when facing the ghost of his past and that was everything Patton wanted for his best friend.

He stood up and hugged them both; feeling seconds later Roman’s arms circling them all. Patton felt happy there, hugging his best friends and being hugged in return. He felt Roman pressing a soft kiss to his temple and noticed the royal boy doing the same for the others, and a warm feeling settle in his chest. They would be okay, he knew it.

They broke apart a few seconds after and Logan stood up, presenting his hand to Virgil and helping him up. When questioned what was wrong Logan shrugged

“Emotional outbursts are better dealt with food. Want to come with us?”

“Nah, you guys go ahead”

Logan nodded and walked to the door, Virgil following behind without question. Roman noticed with a smirk that Virgil was blushing, staring in wonder at where his and Logan’s hands joined with a small and dopey looking smile in his face.

When both left the room Roman allowed himself to chuckle, and he and Patton shared a knowing look while Roman shook his head

“They are precious”

“Eh, Jack Smellington deserves happiness”

“They both do” Roman nodded, Patton was right after all “Anyway, want some tea? We could use something to calm down”

“Allow me to do this”

Patton was going to deny it, Roman just knew, but he wanted to do something for the glasses wearing kid. After all, according to Logan story Patton had suffered too

When he finished making the tea with the set Patton kept in his room (“Why do you even-” “You never know when you might want tea!”) Roman sat down again and smiled. Both took a drink and sighed, the warm helping them to relax

“It feels weird, you know”

“What does?”

“Knowing that my best friend fell in love with your best friend. What’s next, our own love story?” Roman stared directly at the tea cups while saying this, slightly embarrassed at proposing the mental image to Patton “Are we stuck in a slow burn 30k words fanfic? Is this the author throwing foreshadow?”

“That’s what that word is used for!”

Roman laughed, shaking his head a little. He risked looking at Patton to find him blushing and smiling, staring at his tea and seemingly lost in a day dream.

“How are you Patton?”

“Im good! Why do you ask?”

“Well, you kind of had to relive some messed up experiences so…”

“Yeah… but it was worth it, I had to do it to protect my best friend”

“Was it only to protect your friend or is there something else?”

Patton shook his head “Logan is in love with Virgil, and I have someone else in mind” He took a deep breathe of the tea and smiled “Don’t get me wrong, I love Logan and if I could spend the rest of my life with him I would do so happily, but what I feel for him is platonic”

“So there is someone who you love?”

“Yup, maybe you know him”

“Well, you have my curiosity” Roman smirked and teasingly laughed “But if you choose him instead of us I’ll make sure there’s always a tiny dagger following him around”

“I could never choose someone else instead of you, of all of you. I think I would be fully happy if we all could live together, staying friends until we are old and can’t work as heroes anymore”

Roman stared at him, the burning need to ask “only as friends?” trying to crawl its way up his mouth. He stayed shut, trying to wrack his brain to think of some way to continue the conversation, to keep flirting, to make Patton laugh and blush. He wanted so much to reach up to him and kiss him, even just his cheek, even just his forehead. With a small sigh Roman stared seriously at Patton

“You forgot to answer me”

“Answer what?”

“If you are okay”

Patton stayed silent for a few seconds

“That’s a complex question to answer”

“Is it?”

“Yeah, there are a lot of things Logan talked about. Things I knew and things I didn’t…” He paused, avoiding Roman’s eyes “I think it’ll be safer for everyone if we just shared our Quirks strengths and weaknesses”

“You want us to talk about the setbacks for us, right?”

“I need to make sure none of you are pushing it too much. I worry for all of you”

“We do too Patton” Roman frowned, setting his tea cup down “But... What even was that? Why did Logan’s father fell to his knees when you took back your power? What does it really do?”

A few minutes of silence settled between both boys, until the soft whisper of Patton's voice interrupted

“What about yours Roman?”

“Mine is easy Pat, I make weapons out of myself. There’s nothing else to it”

Patton stayed silent, debating if it was okay and safe to talk about his powers with someone. Only Thomas knew and he did because he had raised Patton since baby. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself

“I- my power acts as a drug”

“A drug?”

“If I go full out I make people extremely happy, so happy they want to feel that way forever. I mess up with their brains basically. It’s…” Patton paused, trying to explain an addiction to someone when they had none was harder than expected

“Patton, I don’t mean to push”

“No, no is not that. I’m thinking” Roman nodded and Patton ruffled his own hair “Is basically like, when you are asleep and really don’t want to wake up? And then suddenly someone dumps a bucket of ice cold water on top of you, umh… like, you wake up in a rush and don’t know what’s going on?”

“So your power is like… an ice bucket…?”

“Yes and no, i… Like, it’s both? Like, Im the sleep you want to keep but when I take back my energy im also the ice bucket?”

“Im lost”

With a frustrated groan Patton threw his head back, he had one more way to explain his powers but it was…

“It’s like when you jack off and someone interrupts you by entering the room, but you really want to keep going because you were _this close_ and suddenly you can't!”

Roman chocked on his tea, he could kind of get it now but he had never expected Patton to just use that analogy.

“W-well, I understand now”

Patton whined, covering his red face and trying to run away from the awkward situation. There were millions of ways to explain it! Why had he just jumped to that one?

“Patton, hey, it’s okay” Roman carefully put his hand in Patton’s shoulder “I guess I should explain my set back better now?”

Patton nodded, still too embarrassed to look at Roman or even to speak. Roman breathed in and sighed, arming himself with bravery

“It takes part of my own energy; I basically have to eat a lot to keep up with the amount of energy needed to make all the weapons I use. If I don’t eat enough my power just takes part of my life energy”

“Wha-”

“It’s not a big deal honestly; it’s just annoying most of the time” He smiled at Patton, who gave him a shy smile back “But, allow me to feel curious”

“Yes?”

“That is the setback for whoever falls under your Quirk, correct?” Patton nodded “Then, what about the damage that causes you? Or does it cause no damage to you as user?”

“Ah… dad says I have to be careful with using it too much. It doesn’t have too many setbacks just, I can relate way too easily to people and sometimes while using _Euphoria_ I can feel what the person was feeling before”

Roman nodded, it sounded fair enough. He glanced at Patton and felt a gentle smile taking place in his face.

Carefully he held his hand out, waiting for Patton to take it. When Patton held his hand Roman kissed Patton’s knuckles and smiled at him gently

“Thank you for trusting me with this, I’ll make sure to keep this information hidden”

“I’ll do the same Roman”

Roman smiled and Patton giggled, a blush softly covering both boys cheeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys like this chapter? my childs are soft here  
> Now, on a slightly more serious talk. Im terribly sorry for how long it's taken me to update and i know as a reader is frustrating and annoying, but please be patient with me  
> I start working next week but also, im really close to my summer break so, maybe chapters would come faster. Please be patient with me and thank you to the ones that leave reviews and are really patient with me. You guys make finishing this story worth it


	12. The beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly i would like to apologize for my absence, it's just that i had problems finding inspiration for this story.  
> I will however finish it, but i do ask you all to be patient
> 
> Warnings: Phisical abuse to a female under the hands of a man, misgendering of a character, the use of the word "Qu*er" as an insult, unhealthy relationships.  
> Please proceed with caution.
> 
> In the final notes there is a summary of the chapter in case the actual chapter is too much and you need to avoid it

“Are you feeling okay?”

Virgil shrugged, he wasn’t feeling good or bad, just neutral. He squeezed Logan’s hand and smiled a little

“What about you?”

“It helped… you know, to talk about all of this”

Virgil nodded and Logan gifted him with a smile.

They got lost in their conversation, distracting each other and laughing. The principal walking their way something they glassed over completely

She chuckles as she avoids their path, waving away Virgil’s screamed apology. She stops to talk to students, she stops to talk to teachers. She keeps a friendly smile on her face.

After an hour of walking around, she sighed, disappearing near a hallway from the school and being unable to be found by cameras.

Carefully the skin of the headmaster started melting off and showing the face of a woman no older than 18, a smirk firmly placed on her face.

She fixes her uniform and skips around campus. It’s easier to investigate the school while looking like herself because no one knows her. But some think they do.

As long as she’s normal enough no one will notice her.

She has hidden in plain sight, and she smiles.

When her phone sounds she picks up immediately, screaming on the phone in a higher pitched voice that her usual one

“Dad!”

The man on the other side of the phone chuckles, shaking his head. She can’t see him, but she feels it, she knows him. She knows this.

“How is everything over there? Found the kids?”

“Everything is fine, dad! I might have found my cousin and his boyfriend”

“Boyfriend? Did my kid got a sweetheart?”

“Smart, glasses wearing, you might know him too in the next family reunion!”

“Are you around too many people?”

“Yup, give me a second”

Agni waits, turning his eyes back to the TV instead of the door he was focusing on and watching the girl skipping around campus, searching for a secluded place where she can talk without worry. He smirks when she closes herself off in the bathroom and puts the phone close to his ear again

“So, your brat apparently got together with William’s kid”

“Virgil is dating Williams?”

“I’m not sure, but they were holding hands though so they might as well”

“So my kid is queer…” Agni sighs, passing a hand over his head “Sounds fair enough, what with those taking care of him”

“The brat actual parents?”

“Oh come on, he’s my kid!”

“Yeah, but they raised him”

“Oh fuck you”

“I’m still illegal boss”

A small smile breaks out in Agni’s face and he can’t help but chuckle

“So, you have any idea of what to do with the brats, Veronica?”

“We’ll see, for now… you said your brat has anxiety?”

“Yeah, he’s getting it treated and all that”

Veronica nods, her curls bouncing around with the movement. She presses her weight against the bathroom stall and sighs throwing her head back and staring directly at the camera only she knows is there

“We can play with that”

“Do share your idea”

“You’ll have to wait, Boss, and don’t you have a principal to torture?”

“Oh yeah, you need anything else of her?”

Veronica shakes her head, knowing that everything she needs for her Quirk to work is in her bag. The communication cuts after they exchange goodbyes and Veronica makes a peace sign to the camera only she knows is there.

Agni turns around, away from the TV, to stare again at the door.

He knows he can’t keep putting it off, but…

“I'm torturing her and she still terrifies me, how ironic”

He opens the door and there she is, her brown hair cascades down her shoulders, knotted and dirty but holding a similar air to when he first meets her. A smile keeps itself on her face and Agni feels cold dread down his spine.

He backhands her, splitting her lip and making blood drip down to her shin. The smile flutters for half a second and comes back full force

“For fucks sakes Dot!”

Only silence answers him and Agni snarls.

“All this can be over and you can get your freedom back, you just have to help us Dot”

The smile on her face turns to something soft like he remembers from when he was a kid. It makes Agni want to vomit and he slaps her again, grabbing a handful of hair and forcing her to stare into his eyes

“You could have it all, you could be my right hand, we can conquer the world together”

He caresses her cheek, and Dot feels proud of herself for not flinching

“Fine, be that fucking way!”

Using the hold on her hair he slams her head against the wall and leaves. When the door closes Dot takes a second to vomit the blood on her mouth and sighs.

“Bobby, what happened to you?”

Is an empty question, she saw “Agni” grow from a shy 15 years old to now an abuser and bigoted man but she never was able to do anything.

Her hands are tied behind her back in more than one sense, and she wonders if she ever made the right choice when it came to Bobby.

He was thin and quiet when he came to her school, shy and scared of his shadow, with a terrifying snarl and tired eyes that kept him away from his peers. A kid that spent his breaks in the infirmary or the library, a kid who she tried to connect with.

She remembers, with anger and impotence, when he first used his quirk on her

“You are interesting”

“Oh? May you share?”

“You fear your immortality… but you fear mortality”

She had frozen up, staring at him with an unsure gaze. She could understand why others shone him out when hanging out, especially if he did the same thing to others. She pushed a smile to her face and messed up his hair with a soft hand

“Indeed, but I’ve had centuries to feel comfortable with that”

“Do you have two powers?”

“Ah, are you perhaps talking about my Void quirk?”

He had nodded, making Dot smile for real. She had been a hero once in a time. She had seen death too many times, she had pushed death to others more often than she would have ever wanted to, and she had decided to quit.

Training the next generation of heroes had been an obvious choice, a way to pay for past sins, a way to make sure her mistakes wouldn’t be repeated by new kids. Her students were her new purpose, they were her second chance to bring good to the world.

Bobby had been quick, smart, but he was weak and his power was unfitted for fights or rescues, he had raged and screamed and complained. His smart and quick brain making him learn things she feared at a speed she couldn’t match and had one day disappeared from the school.

She hadn’t seen him again for years, but she knew he was out there.

When she saw him on TV under the name Agni she had frowned, when she noticed he was wanted by the police her frown had turned to distress.

Her fault.

That’s what the letter had said, the letter that came to her house one shiny day. Her fault and hers alone, if only she had put him where he clearly belonged and if only he had been given the chance to show he could be a hero. He only wanted to get rid of weak people who did bad things. How was that a bad thing?

She had avoided answering.

She was still avoiding it.

Tears were falling down her face. She had failed on bringing good to the world, one of her own students now a villain people feared, a villain that didn’t care about anything but making people suffer. Someone who only wanted to leave the stronger people standing.

She was afraid.

Agni slammed his fist into the wall, a snarl making it past his lips. She was still denying him, still turning her face away from him. Why was she ignoring him! He was right! He was going to bring the world to a new era where people would only be judged by their strength! He was going to become a god!

“Mitchell!”

“Yes, uncle?”

“Is your coward of a boyfriend still in that fucking school?!”

Mitchell flinched; he hated being forced to remember his partner. He wasn’t even in love with them, why was he keeping up something he knew had no future?

“Yes uncle, he is still in the school”

“Good, he’s finally going to be useful for something. Meet up with him and convince him to befriend Virgil, we need to speed up our plans”

Mitchell nodded, taking out his phone and dialing the number he had ignored for more than a week. The person on the other side picked up on the third ring and Mitchell snorted

“Too busy to pick up immediately?”

“I-I’m sorry, c-class was still-”

“I don’t care, want to meet up?”

“Mitchell, I'm in class still!”

“So? You should ditch class and hang out with me anyway. I want to see you, isn’t that enough for you? Don’t you love me, Elliott?”

He heard a muffled sob and smirked. He had them.

“I do! I love you, I'm so-sorry!”

“I’ll see you in half an hour in the park of our first date”

He hung up before letting Elliott say anything else and sighed. At least he still had a reason to keep dating his partner. Elliott was needed in the end, their Quirk was powerful even if they were a pushover.

Mitchell threw himself into bed and closed his eyes, putting his alarm to wake him up after half an hour. He had no intention to be there when Elliott reached the park. They better waited for him, otherwise, he would have to admonish his partner.

A smirk came softly to his face. Yeah, Elliott was useful for some things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all get a golden star if you know who Elliott, Dot, and Mitchell are
> 
> Summary of the chapter  
> We discover the principal that is on the school is a doopleganger named Veronica, the actual headmaster of the school [a woman named Dot] is being tortured by Agni [whos real name is Bobby] because he wants her to join him.  
> Agni makes his nephew [Mitchell] call his partner [Elliott, who is agender but Mitchell and Agni constantly reffer to them in male pronouns]  
> Once Mitchell calls Elliott he manipulates them and forces them to meet up with him, the chapter ends with Mitchell thinking that Elliott is "Finally useful for something"


	13. Lies and Pretends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Pete wondered if his feelings would ever be acknowledged. Sometimes he made calls for protection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY SNAKE SON APPEARS MUAHAHA  
> Also, in case any of you are wondering, Pete is pranks [the "Disney pranks with friends" character of the Sanders Shorts]

Elliot cleaned up their tears and sighed. The feelings they had for their partner were still deep and strong, even if Mitchell was less than ideal.

They gave a small smile to Peter, who just sighed and shook his head

“The douchbag again?”

“Pete! He’s still my boyfriend”

An annoyed sigh escaped the mouth of the usually cheerful boy. He had tried time and time again to make Elliott react and realize Mitchell was a bad match for him, but still, nothing was happening and they were running out of time. No matter what he or Missy or even Remy said, Elliott was still in denial.

He pushed himself up and away from the chair and stood in front of Elliott, the frown on his face deepening when he realized that they were packing their things and getting ready to ditch class.

“Are you seriously going to ditch for him?”

“P-Pete, please”

“No, fuck no. I'm coming with”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because he’s fucking pissing me off” Elliott flinched as if physically struck, and Pete relaxed his face and voice “I just want to make sure you’ll be okay El”

Mitchell had a bad reputation among their friend group. When he and Elliott started dating Elliott started changing. They were ditching classes more often, they looked sleep deprived, they jumped at the minimum touch, they tried to stop hanging out with the group. Overall, it just gave Mitchell a horrible reputation and the others the knowledge that Mitchell was probably abusing Elliott.

Carefully, with open movements and slow approach, Pete placed his hand on Elliott’s cheek. The taller boy sighed and pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes and begging internally for strength that he did not possess

“You are my dearest friend El, I’m not letting some asshole hurt you more than he has”

“He hasn’t hurt me, Pete, I promise”

“Don’t lie to me, not to me. I accept you lying to the others, but not to me” Pete’s voice was no more than a whisper, a beg

“Why does this matter so much to you? I know if I go there now Mitchell won’t be there. He’ll probably make me wait for hours and get disappointed if I leave”

“Then why go now? Why go at all?”

“Because I love him, Pete, maybe when you fall for someone you’ll understand”

Pete sighed, finally Letting Elliott go out of his gentle hold. Yeah, he knew what Elliott was going on and on about, he understood. But Elliott was the one not understanding.

“In any case, I'm coming with. I can leave an illusion for both of us if you want to”

“Not needed on my side, I have special permission in case my uncle needs me at his workplace”

“Uh, lucky”

Elliott nodded, a shy smile coming to their face. They appreciated their friends more than words could express. They knew that Pete was right, that what they had with Mitchell was wrong and warped, but they couldn’t let go. Mitchell was right, who was ever going to love someone as messed up as Elliott? Just Mitchell, that’s why Elliott had to tolerate Mitchell cheating on them, because at least he still loved them.

Still, a part of them regretted not accepting their friend logic. Peter might be a joker but he knew when enough was enough and when he needed to be serious.

Part of Elliott was scared, scared that they would end up being broken beyond repair. But the optimistic part of themselves was trying by any possible way to make them think it was okay and normal to feel scared, that Mitchell loved them and both were eventually going to get a nice relationship back after time passed.

On the other side Peter was making a phone call he never thought he would have to make

“Peter?”

“Demian?”

“Holy shit, you’re alive??”

“I should be asking that!” he left a laughter escape his throat “Holy shit Dee!”

“Never thought you’ll be so happy to hear me alive brat!”

“I’m your brother asshole, I'm always happy when you’re alive”

“So, why are you calling me? Did something happen?”

“Kind of, I need a favor”

“Depends on who it is, but since you’re my brother I can make the price more accessible”

“I just need you to befriend this person. He’s a piece of trash and an abuser that I want to punch, but his partner won’t let me. So I need you to keep an eye on him”

“Ah, why do you want your brother to hang around trash? That’s mean”

“Come on Dee, you can do this right?”

The laughter on the other end of the phone answered his question for him

Peter wasn’t someone who held grudges. He considered the unnecessary hate something like a chain that stopped him from living his life to the fullest. But in this case, in this case, his hate was justified; in this case, his hate was the only reason why he would ever sacrifice his brother to hang out with trash. Peter was going to protect Elliott, whether Elliott knew it or not.

\--0--

Demian hangs up after the goodbyes and smirked. It’s been a while since the last time he had a request from his little brother, especially a request that was more of an observation job.

He dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped on it, before carelessly grabbing the knife and pulling it out of the mannequin in front of him. He had left home to live the life he wanted, and now he used his power for what he wished. Whoever paid more got the best service

Demian stared at the sky for a few seconds and chuckled. He would have fun torturing Mitchell for what he was doing to Elliott, besides karma had a fun way of going. If he had to be the instrument of lady karma then he would do so with a smile on his face and a jump on his step.

Mitchell would never expect someone to manipulate him like he manipulated everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize so much for all the wait for such a short chapter. I know this is unsatisfactory and definitely not worth the months'-long wait.  
> However, besides knowing all this, this is all I have to offer today.
> 
> Besides that, this fanfic is officially on hiatus until I have enough time to fully dedicate myself to it. I'll still work on it on the side but so far my focus is mostly on my college work. Please understand, I also don't want me to do what I'm doing
> 
> Come yell at me on Tumblr?  
> analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on tumblr!  
> https://analogically-prinxiety.tumblr.com


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